Obviously, there's thousands and thousands of birds, mammals, amphibians, invertebrates, crustaceans, insects, arachnids and other varieties of life that could associate themselves with your garden, so I can't cover them all in one post. But what I'll try to do is lump them into categories and work from there. Let's categorize them first as beneficial, neutral or harmful.
Beneficial animals
Earthworms — Earthworms are the gardener's best friend. They fertilize and aerate your soil, and their presence is an indicator of good soil health. Please don't cut them in half hoping they will double. That's a myth. Only one half survives.
Spiders — In general, leave spiders alone. The exception would be species that are harmful to people. Leave most orb- and tunnel-weavers alone. They will hunt, catch and eat harmful bugs. Some people catch the spiders that wander into their houses and release them into their flower beds. Everyone's happier — except the bugs that get eaten, of course.
Butterflies — Butterflies are pollinators, and the worst thing they'll do to your garden is lay eggs on your plants. All in all, they're a net good.
Dragonflies — Dragonflies are mass murderers of mosquitoes. Keep them flying.
Mantids — This ravenous predator will mindlessly devour all sorts of arthropods in your garden. They sell praying mantis ootheca (egg cases) at many organic gardening suppliers.
Bees — Bees pollinate, and beekeeping and gardening are two activities that pair incredibly well together. Plants and bees love each other.
Wasps — Wasps, especially parasitic wasps, can kill harmful bugs voraciously.
Ladybugs —Second only to mantids for their bug-hunting abilities, the ladybug is a feared predator of all kinds of harmful insect pests. Aphids, tomato mites, mealy bugs are all eaten in huge numbers by ladybugs.
Lacewings — Lacewings suck harmful bugs dry.
Lightning Bugs — The larvae of these firey-butted creatures will feed on slugs.
Frogs — Leave frogs alone. They eat harmful insects.
Bats — Why do they sell bat houses at gardening suppliers? Because bats are awesome. They eat bad insects, and are secondary pollinators. Pollen gets stuck in their fur, and they distribute it as they lick up nectar.
Pillbugs —These aren't insects, but crustaceans (like crabs). The common roly-poly mostly likes to eat dead plant matter, which is why you might find them in your compost. But when it comes to your living plants, they will neither hurt them nor benefit them.
Birds — Birds are a tough call. Some, like crows, do no good. Owls eat mice. Hummingbirds are pollinators, and also eat insects. Chickadees eat aphids and insect eggs. They also eat earthworms. Some people just like having songbirds around. They're kind of a mixed bag. Judge them on a species by species basis.
Boxelder Beetles — These fast-multiplying bugs can be nasty for homeowners, as they can clog up equipment and leave behind stains now and then, but I don't think they're harmful to plants. If you'd rather get rid of them, they're easy to deal with organically. Just spray them with soapy water, which will clog their spiracles and suffocate them.
Ants — Ant activity can indicate dry soil. There are ants who "farm" aphids and drink their juices, but they will not harm the aphids. They neither help nor hurt your garden.
Dogs and cats — Dogs and cats, whether they're your own or from the neighborhood, can do a little harm and good. They can scare away birds, rabbits and mice from your garden, but they might also dig or poop in your garden.
Millipedes — These arthropods feed on decaying plant matter, and generally leave everything else alone. You can tell them apart from centipedes because they have two pairs of legs per segment.
Centipedes — These faster-moving cousins of millipedes aren't detritivores, but predators. As such, centipedes eat potentially harmful bugs. I put them in the neutral section because they are occasionally dangerous to humans. They can bite you, and for that reason you might not want them in your garden — although they are good indicators of a rich soil.
Harmful animals
Slugs — In the compost heap, leave slugs alone. They'll break down anything. In the garden, they will also break down anything. You can kill them individually, but if you're dealing with an infestation there are many ways (both organic and otherwise) to get rid of slugs. Avoid slinging salt around in your garden, though, as this will sterilize the soil.
Grubs — Grubs are larval beetles, many of which (especially the Japanese beetle) can be harmful for your garden. Predatory nematodes are one way to control them, or else just squash them whenever you dig one up.
Earwigs — These alien-looking insects wig me out. I think that's where the word came from. They can attack herbs, especially young ones. You can trap them with bait traps and toss them out.
Aphids — These fluid-filled, wingless jerks are bad news. They can desiccate plants by sucking their juices. Most of the above beneficial insects will kill aphids, though. Ladybugs especially.
Tomato hornworms — These fat, bright green caterpillars devour green leaves in the garden. Pick them off and toss them, or else destroy them as grubs by rototilling your garden. There are pesticides that target them specifically if you're willing to use them. Daisies, yarrow and black-eyed Susans are natural repellents.
Cutworms — These long cats have shiny head segments and cut off young stems of plants, hence the name. Like slugs, cutworms dislike any gritty or sharp surfaces, so you can repel them with sharp sands, coffee grounds or crunched-up eggshells.
Mealybugs — At less than one-sixteenth of an inch long, these critters cluster up in telltale whispy blobs, often on the undersides of leaves. Wasps and ladybugs will eat them.
Shield bugs — These "true bugs" are shaped like tiny shields. Pests of this type include squash beetles and stinkbugs. You can hand-pick them in the morning when they're moving slowly. There are also some organic-certified insecticides that target these bugs.
Grasshoppers — Not all grasshoppers are bad, but many count as pests. You can protect your garden from them during times of swarming grasshopper activity with a netting-covered frame.
Spider mites — These hard-to-see pests will cluster on leaves, feeding on leaves and causing them to shrivel. You can spray them off with water (they thrive in dry environments) or smother them with horticultural oil.
Deer — Deer can be horrors. There are noise-making fountains called "deer chasers." Google them to learn more.
Rabbits — Rabbits are pretty awful for your garden. One way to keep them away is to use blood meal in your garden. The naturally paranoid rabbit doesn't take too kindly to the scent of spilled blood, for obvious reasons.
Other mammals that can be annoying in gardens include opossums, armadillo, raccoons, mice, rats, gophers, voles, squirrels, chipmunks and others. Many of these can be frightened away through various methods, but a more permanent solution is needed as many of them will catch on to your tricks. After all, mammals are smart. You might call your local animal control to get them trapped and removed. If they've found a food source they like, they will probably return.
As you can see, a lot of the beneficial bugs are flyers. The other thing they have in common is they're predators. They eat other bugs. Keep in mind that not every beneficial bug-eating bug is selective. Some of them are specialized to eat on garden pests, but some are indiscriminate killers — like the praying mantis and spiders.
On insecticides, the main reason you might want to not use them is they're usually pretty indiscriminate too. They will kill the good bugs along with the bad ones. So keep that in mind if you choose to use them.
There's practically a whole cottage industry in gardening that markets plants as attractors of beneficial insects and arthropods. You can buy them live in little containers and release them, or you can plant plants that attract them. I might do another post sometime about these plants.
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