Green-fingered Brits are being given advice on which insects are most beneficial for keeping pests at bay this summer.

The experts at GardeningExpress.co.uk have put together a list of bugs that help effectively maintain the garden by eliminating unwanted pests and pollinating flowers.

As the weather warms up, your garden becomes alive with all kinds of insects, but not all of them are your enemies.

Quite the opposite – most of them are completely harmless and even beneficial, as they eat the pests that feed on your plants and crops.

Chris Bonnett, from GardeningExpress.co.uk said: “Encouraging the right type of bugs to take residence in your garden provides a long-term pest control solution, which is a good alternative to using chemical pesticides.

“This will allow you to grow your plants and vegetables organically, it’s good for the environment and it also keeps the garden maintenance costs down.

“You can attract the beneficial bugs into your garden by creating an optimal environment for them to thrive in.

“A few examples of how to make your garden insect-friendly is growing a diverse selection of plants, letting part of your garden grow wild or creating a compost heap.”

Here are some of the bugs you should welcome in your garden:

Ladybirds
Despite their colourful look and sweet name, ladybirds are predatory insects who like to feast on pests – they devour about 50 aphids per day. These little bugs with a big appetite are one of the best options for natural pest control.

Green lacewings
Similar to ladybirds, lacewings enjoy munching on aphids, especially black flies, who are very damaging to your vegetable plot. Lacewing larvae are especially useful because they can consume up to 200 aphids per week.

Ground beetles
Ground beetles are good for getting rid of soft-bodied pests like snails and slugs. On top of that, they also feed on weed seeds, making them your best pals if you’re struggling with removing weeds from your garden.

Spiders
Although many people get uncomfortable with the idea of welcoming spiders into their living spaces, these little creatures are actually very beneficial in your garden. Spiders are not picky when it comes to their diet, so they will eat a variety of insects and are not interested in your vegetable crops.

Butterflies
Butterflies are one of the most important pollinators, which means that they help plants to reproduce. They also attract other beneficial insects to the garden.

Bees
Like butterflies, bees play a vital part in the pollination process which is critical for increasing your harvest. The vast majority of plants we need for food rely on pollination, especially by bees.

Hoverflies
Hoverflies act as both pollinators and pest controllers, making them extremely useful to have in your garden. In their larval stages they ferociously consume aphids, thrips, scale insects and eggs and when they reach to an adult stage they feed off pollen and nectar.