Beneficial Insects for Cannabis: 7 Bugs That Fight Pests for You

Beneficial insects are predators that eat the pests that damage cannabis, from aphids and mites to thrips and fungus gnats. Bringing them into your garden is one of the best ways to keep a healthy cannabis grow: they knock down pest populations, improve the overall health of your plants and cut the need for chemical pesticides.

Knowing which bugs are on your side and how they protect your plants is essential for any grower who wants a more organic, sustainable setup.

Why use insects in an outdoor cannabis grow?

Using beneficial insects in an outdoor cannabis garden is a natural, effective way to optimize plant growth and health. These bugs play a key role in keeping pest populations in check, helping with pollination and boosting biodiversity around your grow.

When you bring these little allies into your garden, you're not just protecting your plants from potential threats. You're also building a more balanced, healthier ecosystem.

Here are the main reasons to use insects in an outdoor cannabis grow:

• Pest control: Beneficial insects are natural predators of many common cannabis pests, like aphids, mites and caterpillars. Release them in your garden and you can cut back on chemical pesticides, or even ditch them entirely, while keeping your plants pest-free the organic way.
• Pollinating edible plants: If you grow other edible plants alongside your weed, insects like bees and butterflies can help pollinate them, which improves the yield and quality of those extra crops.
• Boosting biodiversity: Beneficial insects make your garden a more diverse, resilient ecosystem. That diversity helps keep things in natural balance, lowers the odds of a full-blown infestation and gives your plants a healthier environment to grow in.
• Preventing the spread of disease: Some insects help stop diseases from spreading by eating pathogens or by keeping down the populations of insect vectors that can carry diseases to your cannabis plants.

Put beneficial insects to work and you can improve the quality and yield of your outdoor grow while taking a more sustainable, eco-friendly approach.

Insects that help protect cannabis plants

Using beneficial insects in a cannabis grow is a natural, effective technique for keeping your plants healthy and pest-free. These bugs act as natural predators, taking out the harmful insects that could set your plants back.

Some of these species won't be found in every region, but chances are you can recruit at least one or two of them to guard your garden.

Green lacewings

Green lacewings are excellent predators that feed on a wide range of cannabis pests. Adults overwinter and lay their eggs in late spring and early summer. The adults themselves live on nectar, pollen and honeydew; it's the larvae that actively hunt soft-bodied insects like aphids, thrips, whiteflies, leafhoppers and mites.

How to use green lacewings in your cannabis grow:

You can buy green lacewing larvae in containers holding anywhere from 250 to 10,000 of them. Since their life cycle is short, use them when you need them, sprinkling the larvae straight onto plants hit by pests like aphids.

Companion plants that attract green lacewings:

To draw adult lacewings into your garden, plant dill, caraway, fennel and cilantro.

Ladybugs

Ladybugs are a powerhouse for pest control, especially when it comes to aphids. Both adults and larvae eat aphids, and the larvae can put away up to 250 a day. Ladybugs also hunt down and eat the eggs of moths and beetles, along with mites and thrips.

How to use ladybugs in your cannabis grow:

You can buy live ladybugs at nurseries or garden centers. To get them to stick around, make your garden inviting with a small water source and colorful flowers.

Companion plants that attract ladybugs:

Plant cilantro, chives, calendula, dill and yarrow to attract ladybugs and keep them in your garden.

Praying mantises

Praying mantises are expert hunters that use stealth and patience to pick off the bugs going after your crop. They prefer aphids, caterpillars and whiteflies, which makes them valuable allies in a cannabis garden.

How to use praying mantises in your cannabis grow:

Place mantis egg cases around your garden to release these natural predators. The eggs take up to six weeks to hatch, and the young mantises spread out fast to hunt pests.

Companion plants that attract praying mantises:

Attract mantises to your garden with big, bushy plants like basil, rosemary, lavender and mint.

Predatory mites

Not all mites are bad news. Predatory mites are an effective form of biological pest control: they hunt down and kill the plant-eating mites, like spider mites, that damage cannabis.

How to use predatory mites in your cannabis grow:

Use predatory mites to fight off plant-eating mite infestations without harming your plants. Shake the containers of predatory mites directly onto the affected plants and wait 7-10 days before reapplying if needed.

Companion plants that attract predatory mites:

Mint is said to be especially good at attracting predatory mites. Grow it in containers around your beds or greenhouse to keep these predators close.

Assassin bugs

Assassin bugs are cunning hunters that use venom to kill the bugs feeding on your cannabis plants. They eat caterpillars and various species of flies, though heads up: they'll also eat ladybugs, so they're a useful but indiscriminate ally.

How to use assassin bugs in your cannabis grow:

Place clusters of assassin bug eggs near the affected foliage. The eggs take up to 10 days to hatch, and the newborn bugs start feeding right away.

Companion plants that attract assassin bugs:

To attract assassin bugs, plant Queen Anne's lace, daisies, alfalfa, marigolds, dandelions, goldenrod, fennel and dill.

Nematodes

Beneficial nematodes are microscopic roundworms that live in the soil and help control cannabis pests like slugs, beetles, cutworms and moth larvae.

How to use nematodes in your cannabis grow:

Nematode products are often sold on a sponge. Soak the sponge in a watering can and apply the solution to the problem areas of your garden.

Companion plants that attract nematodes:

Once you've introduced predatory nematodes, give them a better home by planting white clover to shade and protect them.

Rove beetles

Rove beetles are predators that feed on a range of pests, including fungus gnats, whose larvae attack cannabis roots.

How to use rove beetles in your cannabis grow:

If fungus gnat larvae are going after your plants, bring in rove beetles to knock their numbers down. They can also help against thrips.

Companion plants that attract rove beetles:

Plant white and red clover as a living mulch to attract rove beetles and give them a friendly place to live.