Seeing lightning bugs dance around in the yard is a mesmerizing experience every homeowner loves to see. Also known as fireflies, lightning bugs are nocturnal beetles that are beneficial to your garden, providing more benefits than just a light show. Lightning bugs feed on snails and slugs, which can destroy your plants, vegetables, and flowers. Fireflies aren’t dangerous or poisonous and don’t carry any pathogenic diseases. These bugs are active during the summer and glow due to the luciferin found in their tails.
Is it Good to Have Lightning Bugs in Your Yard?
How to Attract Lightening Bugs to Your Yard
Give them a Food Source
Lightning bugs enjoy a diet of garden pests, nectar, pollen, and nectar from flowers and plants. They also dine on slugs, snails, worms, grubs, and other common garden pests.
So, if you want more fireflies buzzing around in the evening sky, don’t take steps to eliminate garden pests, as you’ll remove the lightning bugs’ food source. You can also add flowering plants to the yard to attract these glowing critters.
Let the Grass Grow
Lightning bugs like long grass and shrubs in the yard. Mowing too often will discourage the firefly species from sticking around.
Lightning bugs like to hang out in the tall grass during the day. Plant some ornamental grasses around the garden’s perimeter to ensure you don’t attract ticks into the yard. Pampas grass or fountain grass are good choices for attracting fireflies.
Install a Water Feature
Lightning bugs like hanging around yards with a water source. If you don’t have a pond, consider setting up a water feature to attract fireflies and create the perfect firefly habitat. Lightning bugs like setting up shop around humid areas with standing water sources.
To stop mosquitoes from invading the water and laying eggs, consider using a fish pond as a water source instead of other standing water sources.
Add Some Pine Trees to Your Yard
Lightning bugs love hanging around native pine trees. These trees feature a thick canopy preventing light from seeping through the branches during the day.
Pine trees create an ideal gathering spot for lightning bugs and allow them to see each other’s lights to communicate with each other. When the pine needles drop, they create an ideal nesting spot for female lightning bugs to lay eggs and add to the firefly population.
Get Rid of Outdoor Lights
If it’s well into the summer and you don’t have any fireflies dancing around in the yard, it might be because you have too much outdoor lighting in the yard. Lightning bugs prefer living in dark areas so they can see each other’s lights and communicate during the night.
Eliminate light pollution by turning off the porch lights and pathway lights around the yard. Creating a darker environment pleases the lightning bugs, and they might show up to put on a light display for you. Keep the curtains and blinds closed inside your home to prevent light from leaking out into the yard.
If you live on a property where neighbors’ light gets into your yard, consider installing a privacy fence to keep the light out and darken the garden areas.
Create a Wood Pile
While it might seem counterproductive, increasing the food supply for slugs and snails helps to attract fireflies. Stock up on firewood from a local dealer, and you’ll start to get more slugs and snails around the yard, providing a food source for the lightning bugs.
Fireflies also enjoy laying eggs in the rotted wood pile. If you don’t have space for a wood pile or don’t like the look of your yard, consider adding tree branches or sticks to your flowerbeds to attract fireflies and their food.
Don’t Use Pesticides in Your Garden
Above all, don’t use chemical pesticides or any pesticides in your yard. You’ll kill off the snails and slugs, eliminating the firefly’s food source. Let the lightning bugs take care of the pests for you. Using pesticides in flowerbeds or on the lawn also kills lightning bug larvae.
Instead of using pesticides, weed the garden regularly, and use natural alternatives to keep the pests at bay. If you have a severe pest infestation in your yard, prepare the lawn and flowerbeds with the right treatments before the start of the summer.
Additional Information: New Firefly Atlas Will Put Beloved Beetles On The Map
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