What's going on everyone? Welcome back to the show. Kevin from Epic Gardening here and we're back with

Jessica Walliser and today we're talking about beneficial insects but specifically we're talking about if it's a good idea

to go on over to the nursery or order from the internet, certain beneficial insects, and then

just release them in the garden.

I know that this is a tip that a lot of people get and a lot of people try and then they get frustrated by the fact that, you know, the ladybugs just fly away, they just leave.

And part of that would probably have to do

with the ecosystem that's in your garden,

but also there's the larger question of

if you should even do that in the first place.

So I figured who better to share whether it's a good idea or not than

Jessica. So welcome back to the podcast, Jessica. Well thank you so much Kevin. Appreciate

being here and the opportunity to talk about something I love, meaning bugs.

Yeah, this is a question I get asked an awful lot and you know the term bio control is a term that means using one organism to help control another

organism and so in the case of beneficial insects biocontrol means you're

releasing a predatory or parasitic insect to help control a pest

insect in the landscape.

Biocontrol is really useful for in many different ways. So for example if you have a

greenhouse or a high tunnel on your farm and you have you know a horrible might

issue on your peppers right and you can release a predatory might or

like a minute pirate bug or big-eyed bugs you can release those into the contained

environment of your greenhouse where they're pretty much going to stay put and help you combat those pests.

In those situations, biocontrol can actually be extremely effective, especially if you're partnering the right

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