INSECTS ON YOUR SIDE RESTORE NATURAL ORDER TO YOUR GARDEN WITHOUT CHEMICALS.

Byline: Elizabeth Smilor Correspondent

Look before you squish, squash or spray! That bug in your flower bed might be helping to keep your garden growing.

``People need to learn not to kill randomly,'' says Sharon Lovejoy, Cambria-based author of ``Trowel & Error'' (Workman; $13.95) and several other gardening books. ``Be tolerant until you know otherwise - until you catch it in the act.''

From the ground up, gardens need beneficial insects to thrive. Earthworms work underground,aerating the soil and breaking up decaying plant matter. Bees carry pollen from plant to plant, helping them bloom and grow. Other insects, such as ladybugs and lacewings, prey on the pests that harm our plants. Beneficial bugs can keep aphids off your roses, control giant whitefly infestations, hunt down mealybugs and beat caterpillars to your tomatoes.

``I think people should realize that without beneficial insects they wouldn't be eating apples, oranges - they wouldn't be eating many things,'' Lovejoy says.

A healthy garden is one with a diversity of life, according to the experts. Attracting the good bugs to your yard is as simple as cultivating a wide array of plants.

``Avoid having a monoculture,'' says Allison Mia Starcher, a Santa Monica-based illustrator and author of ``Good Bugs for Your Garden'' (Algonquin Books; $10.95). ``Diversity can promote a healthier garden.''

For example, it's fine to have a rose garden, but plant a flowering herb or ground cover such as catmint or creeping thyme underneath your roses to lure bugs that prey on rose pests such as aphids. Lots of woody mulch is also helpful under roses because it creates a good environment for soil microbes. Flowers, such as cosmos or sunflowers, should be planted in a vegetable bed. Starcher puts nasturtiums in her garden as a bait plant to attract caterpillars that might otherwise eat her vegetables.

``You need a lot of flowering plants with both nectar and pollen,'' says Lovejoy. She suggests flowering herbs and wildflowers. Heirloom and native varieties should be mixed in with hybridized flowers, which often have had scents and pollens bred out of them, she and Starcher agree.

Starcher makes sure she has pollen-rich plants blooming in her garden year-round. Her freesia blooms early in the season and her Japanese anemones bloom late. Her favorite plant all year is lavender. Lovejoy loves to plant borage to attract the aptly named aphid lions, the offspring of lacewings.

Rincon-Vitova Insectaries in Ventura offers seed blends for attracting beneficial bugs through its Web site at www.rinconvitova.com. The packages are large, since they cater to large-scale growers, so neighbors can share them, says Ron Whitehurst, marketing manager.

``It takes some nurturing and weeding to get started, but then they should thrive for years,'' he says.

If you'd rather not start from seed, visit a local nursery for established plants. To prevent the introduction of a new pest in your yard, says Lovejoy, always segregate these plants for several days and douse with water to get rid of any bugs before you plant them.

Once you have a diversified garden, the next thing you'll need is a little patience, says Starcher. To lure and keep beneficial insects on your plants, you'll have to resist the urge to spray away the bad guys.

``Stop using pesticides and they will come. You shouldn't be afraid of some aphids on roses. Ladybugs need aphids to reproduce,'' says Starcher. You might not have perfect blooms, but you will spend a lot less money by practicing organic gardening, she says.

To take control of established infestations on plants, try a strong blast of water, says Lovejoy, adding that this method is 90 percent effective. If that doesn't work, mix a little soap or orange oil with the water, she says. To control giant whitefly, she gets out her hand-held vacuum and sucks them up three mornings in a row. Lovejoy's one-acre garden is virtually pest-free, she says, and she never uses pesticides.

``When you get a healthy balance in the garden, you don't need to spray,'' says Lovejoy, who packed ``Trowel & Error'' with homemade garden remedies.

To get a jump-start on creating this delicate balance, gardeners can buy beneficial insects to release in their yards. Most nurseries carry the most commonly employed beneficials - ladybugs, lacewings, preying mantids and decollate snails - in small containers.

Cal Wright, a horticulturist at Green Thumb Nursery and Hardware in Canoga Park, says ladybugs are very popular. They sell a case of about 600 for $5.99. ``A lot of people won't use insecticides,'' he says. ``Ladybugs work fast to clear up pests in a couple of days.''

For a larger selection of good bugs, suppliers such as Rincon-Vitova or Gardens Alive! (www.gardensalive.com) are helpful. Both offer dozens of insects and other organic solutions.

The first step in buying beneficials is knowing what kind of pest you want to expel from your garden.

``Within any given geographical region, homeowner pests are very similar,'' says Craig Harmer, product manager for Gardens Alive! ``(Using) any pictorial guide (or) field guide and then getting on your hands and knees will help.''

Another resource is the University of California Cooperative Extension Web site at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu and their Los Angeles County Master Gardener help line at [phone] or via e-mail at mglosangeleshelpline(at)ucdavis.edu.

The next step is to observe the plant to see what's attracting the pest and then create an environment suitable for the beneficial bug, says Whitehurst of Rincon-Vitova.

For example, if ants are actively working a plant they will protect the insects that produce the honeydew they crave. Aphids produce honeydew, so the ants will attack their predators, he says. So, before you introduce ladybugs or lacewings, you have to control the ant population.

To give purchased beneficials a good start, release them at dusk on plants misted with water and then just make sure there are some pests for them to eat, says Harmer.

``Create a climate that's very accepting to them. Make sure you have pests they like to eat,'' says Starcher. And that means resisting the urge to spray pesticides and learning to love all the living things in your garden.

``Insects are like jewelry on your plants. They make a garden a more active place.''

The good guys

--Green lacewings: These green bugs with lacy wings are aphid predators. Their larvae, known as aphid lions, are even more voracious. The average size of a lacewing is 1/2 to 3/4 inch. They like flowering plants such as borage, sunflowers, angelica and scented geraniums.

--Ladybird beetles (aka ladybugs): The familiar red-and-black insects love aphids, thrip, mealybugs and mites. Their alligator-shaped larvae eat 30 to 40 aphids a day. Ladybugs are 1/8 to 5/8 inch in size. Many nurseries sell them in small containers.

--Syrphid (aka flower or hover flies): These flies resemble bees with their yellow and black stripes, but unlike bees they have only one set of wings. They measure 1/2 to 5/8 inch. The adults are pollinators and like nectar-rich flowers such as feverfew, Italian parsley and coreopsis. Their maggots can consume aphids at a rate of one per minute.

--Praying mantids: These bright green to brown bugs appear much like the twig or leaf where they await their prey. They range in size from 3/4 inch to 5 inches and eat just about any other bug - good or bad. Many nurseries sell the eggs in small cases.

--Mealybug destroyers (aka crypts): These bugs look like black ladybugs with orange-red heads and are about 1/8 inch in size. They will eat some aphids but prefer mealybugs. Ants will protect honeydew-producing mealybugs and attack the destroyers, so it's best to control ants first.

--Parasitic wasps: There are several types of these tiny wasps (usually smaller than 1/8 inch). There are ones that prey on aphids, others for whiteflies and types for worms and caterpillars. They kill by laying eggs inside the host. They like flowering herbs and nectar-rich plants.

The bad guys

--Aphids: These soft-bodied, pear-shaped insects are the most common pests of ornamental plants. They especially like roses. Infestations begin with a few winged aphids that deposit wingless young on the plant. A few dozen of these aphids, about 1/8 inch in size, can produce hundreds to thousands of aphids in just a few weeks. Aphids feed on a plant's sap and can deform flowers and fruit.

--Giant whitefly: These tiny (1/20 inch) white, mothlike bugs are a serious pest most commonly found on hibiscus but also on other ornamentals such as bird of paradise, jasmine and ivy. The telltale sign of an infestation is a white, spiral-patterned mildew on the undersides of leaves. The state of California has released a parasitic wasp to curb the whitefly population.

--Mealybugs: These soft-bodied, oval insects range in size from 1/10 to 1/4 inch. They work below and above ground and are covered in a white, mealy wax. The most common are the citrus mealybugs, which drain the sap of citrus trees.

--Ants: The ant colonies usually seen in our area are Argentine ants, which feed on honeydew excreted by scales, mealybugs, whiteflies and aphids. They will protect these pests from their natural enemies. There is not a natural predator for these ants. A solution of boric acid, sugar and water set out in a plastic container with holes just large enough for the ants is a safe way to kill them. Protect trees from ants by wrapping a sticky material around the trunks.

- E.S.

Alluring additions

Sharon Lovejoy, author of ``Trowel & Error,'' recommends these plants for attracting beneficial insects to your garden. All may be grown in Southern California, but check with your local nursery for specific growing requirements.

Anise 

Asters

Baby-Blue-Eyes

Baby's Breath

Bacopa

Buckwheat (our native Eriogonum)

Caraway 

Ceanothus (our natives, which are often called wild lilacs)

Centranthus

Cilantro

Coral Bells (Heuchera)

Coriander

Coreopsis

Cosmos

Daisies

Dill

Fennel 

Feverfew

Goldenrod 

Lavender

Lobelia 

Marigolds

Mints

Nicotiana 

Rosemary

Salvia, especially our natives

Sunflowers

Tansy 

Thyme

Tiarella (aka foamflowers)

Veronica

Zinnias

CAPTION(S):

9 photos, 3 boxes

Photos:

(1 -- cover -- color) RULES OF ATTRACTION

How to get good bugs to move into your garden

(2 -- color) no caption (Ladybug on flower)

Jon Gerung/Staff Artist

(3 -- color) Hover fly

(4 -- color) Green lacewing

(5 -- color) Scabiosa/thyme

(6 -- color) Bee on Lavender

(7 -- color) Green lacewing and aphid

(8 -- color) Ladybug and aphids

(9 -- color) Praying mantid 

Illustrations provided by Allison Mia Starcher, author of ``Good Bugs for Your Garden.''

Box:

(1) The good guys (see text)

(2) The bad guys (see text)

(3) Alluring additions (see text)