Ladybugs, Praying Mantis, Ground Control (Beneficial Nematodes)

Beneficial nematodes are tiny creatures so small you would need a microscope to see them. They naturally live in the soil. That’s where they hunt and prey on soil-dwelling and wood-boring pests before they can grow up and emerge as destructive adults. The nematodes we offer provide organic pest control for more than 250 kinds of damaging yard and garden insects in soil, bark and ground litter, including: grubs (including Japanese beetle), fungus gnat larvae, flea larvae, cutworms, corn root worms, strawberry weevils, gypsy moth larvae, cabbage root maggots, overwintering adult insects, and many more.

Life Cycle

You apply beneficial nematodes (BN) to your soil when they’re adults. They immediately begin searching for a host, such as a grub, flea larvae, or other soil pest. They crawl inside the host and infect it with bacteria that they carry. This kills the host within 2 days. The BN then lay their eggs in the dead host. The eggs hatch, the juveniles feed on the dead host, go through some growth stages, and then emerge from the dead host to seek out new prey. This process can continue indefinitely to provide an ongoing beneficial nematode population to protect your yard.

How to Release Your Beneficial Nematodes

You can apply beneficial nematodes to your garden in several ways, depending on the area you want to cover. You can mix them with water and spray them. You can mix them into garden soil and apply them directly to your soil or potting mix. And you can inject them into burrows in the trunks of trees where pests live.

Our beneficial nematodes can be applied year-round to ground that isn’t frozen. Keep out of direct sunlight. Only release nematodes in shade or during the very early morning or dusk. See directions for details.

Coverage and Application Frequency

There are about 7 million live beneficial nematodes in one of our containers. This is enough to cover up to 2,000 square feet. For faster results, you also can apply higher concentrations.

One application of our beneficial nematodes will help control pests for about 2 years. But we recommend annual applications for maximum effectiveness.

Mixing Instructions

Additional Details

Beneficial nematodes are harmless to humans, animals, and plants. They also won’t attack other beneficial creatures living in your garden such as ladybugs, lacewings, praying mantises and earthworms.

IMPORTANT – If you don’t use them immediately, store beneficial nematodes in your refrigerator until you apply them.