Your message is a perfect summary of why it’s crucial to welcome beneficial creatures into our gardens and understand their role in the ecosystem.

A Warm Welcome to Our Garden’s Best Friend!

To the creature who left this wonderful message:

Welcome, welcome to our garden! 🌿 We would be absolutely delighted to see you here, and you have my word: food and fresh water will be readily available.

And yes, you are entirely right – no insecticides will ever be used here! Your presence is not only harmless but genuinely a blessing and a privilege.

Your diet of those pesky insects that try to harm our precious vegetables is exactly what we need. You are a natural pest controller, an essential part of a healthy, thriving garden ecosystem.

To all gardeners reading this:

This message serves as a beautiful reminder of the importance of biodiversity and organic gardening practices.

• Who might this helpful visitor be? While the message doesn’t specify, it strongly suggests a beneficial insect or a small creature that preys on garden pests. This could be:
  • Ladybugs (biedronky): Their larvae devour aphids.
  • Lacewings (zlatoočka): Larvae also feast on aphids and other soft-bodied insects.
  • Praying Mantises (modlivky): Generalist predators.
    
  • Spiders (pavúky): Excellent pest controllers, though often misunderstood.
  • Frogs, Toads, and Lizards (žaby, ropuchy, jašterice): They eat a wide range of insects and slugs.
  • Some types of ground beetles (mlynáriky): They hunt slugs, snails, and insect larvae.
• Why avoid insecticides?
  • They don’t discriminate: Insecticides kill all insects, good and bad. This means you’re eliminating your natural allies in pest control.
  • Harmful to other wildlife: They can harm birds, mammals, and even beneficial pollinators like bees (which we desperately need for our fruit trees and vegetables here in Ternopil!).
  • Environmental impact: They can contaminate soil and water.
  • Health risks: Potential risks to humans and pets.
    
    
• How to provide food and water for beneficial creatures?
  • Food (pest control): By not using insecticides, you allow their food source (the “bad” insects) to exist, which attracts and sustains your helpful visitors. Plant diverse native flowers to attract pollinators and provide shelter.
  • Water: A shallow dish of water with some pebbles or marbles (so smaller creatures don’t drown) can be a lifeline, especially during dry spells. Bird baths also serve this purpose.
  • Shelter: Provide natural habitats like log piles, rock piles, dense plantings, or even purpose-built “insect hotels.”

So, dear garden friend, if you are indeed among my plants, rest assured, you are a cherished part of our garden family. Thank you for your hard work, and please, make yourself at home! We appreciate your natural pest control services more than words can say.