Use Beneficial Nematodes to Combat Insect Pests | Gardener's Path

Are predatory insects plaguing your garden?

While there are many types of beneficial nematodes, insecticidal ones are naturally occurring microscopic organisms that live and feed on insects in the soil.

There are different types of nematodes that kill insects. However, many of them are difficult to mass produce or have very narrow host ranges.

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The beneficial nematodes that we will talk about here are entomopathogenic. This term derives from the Greek word entomon, or insect, and pathogenic, or disease-causing.

What makes these insect-killing nematodes special is that they kill their hosts quickly, due to special bacteria that live in their systems.

In contrast to the nematodes you are probably used to thinking of that parasitize plants and animals, these beneficial types can be a great help to your garden.

And in a wonderful gift from nature, insecticidal nematodes will kill pests that feed on plants while typically ignoring beneficial insects.

These fascinating organisms can help control up to 200 different species of insects from 100 different families. That’s pretty wide-ranging coverage.

Here’s what’s to come in this article:

Let’s talk more about what they are before we get into how you can use them, and where to buy them.

Beneficial nematodes offer a safe form of organic pest control for use in the garden. So safe, in fact, that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) even waived the need for them to be registered for pest management.

Not only are they safe for use around pets and people, they are ideal for treatment of soils like those around