I know this seems like a stupid question, but my yard suffers from a lack of bug life. I don't spray. Never have, never will. I suspect part of the problem is decades of abuse before we got here and part of it is over spray from the neighbor who goes nuclear on the pesticides.

Anyway, I am wishing now I had planned ahead and planted fall vegetables to attract bugs. Is it too late to plant cabbages? Is there something else better known for attracting bugs that I could be planting? sowing? radishes? I keep reading about folks complaining about the bugs on their radishes, and I wish I had their problems.

What bug loving plants would you recommend?

I haven't done any vegetable gardening in probably 30 years or more. But when I did, I remember the squash plants and the cruciferous plants (broccoli and cauliflower) drew the most bugs. Pretty late to be planting squash, but the cruciferous plants are fall/winter crops, so given where you are, now to a month from now would be a good time to sow those.

Are you trying to attract pollinators? Some specific types of bugs are attracted to certain plants as well. Can't give a list of bugs with plants though.

I want to attract bugs! Big bugs, little bugs, bugs of all shapes and sizes. I want to attract bugs that will attract birds and other bug eaters. The lack of life in my yard is depressing.

Bugs decimated half of the flowers and vegetables I planted this year. Bugs that I've never seen before. Come to my place with a pickup and you can have them all. I've given up on the garden, so the bugs are very plentiful.

I doubt overspray from your neighbors is going to hurt your bug population. Earlier this year, as a last-ditch effort, I sprayed two of my flower gardens heavily to kill the invaders. I think the bugs liked it. They were more plentiful after spraying, so I gave up.

Be careful what you wish for.

So it sounds like what you really want is life in your yard.

There's a lot that you can do. And each will encourage other types of life.

Soil. Dead or alive? Maybe it needs to be amended.

Sun? Shade? Big factor and not much you can do about it.

Feed the birds. Add a birdbath. If anything is blooming, add a bee bath.

It's not too late to plant veggies but you might want to start with transplants. If you're clever, you can turn a lot of every day things into containers for growing all types of veggies.

I know you like native grasses. Find ones that will live where you live and that will produce seed heads that the birds will like.

Before I get more specific, I'm hoping that someone else has posted before I finish typing. If not, I'll be back later with some suggested sites to look at.

Isn't frost going to knock down your bugs at this time of year? I am hoping my leafy greens outlast the bugs and rebound after frost.
The most bug activity I see is on 'pollinator plants" with some biggies I have being agastache, goldenrod, garlic chives, joepyeweed - draw a variety of sizes of flying bugs.
My cabbage family stuff always decimated in summer by gets two kinds of caterpillar and their adults, plus sometimes harlequin bugs. I don't know if harlequin bugs are tasty though, chickens won't eat them, nor the many squash bugs or stink bugs. Harlequin bugs seem to like my radishes too. And if birds will eat cabbage worms or adults, why do they still decimate my crops?

Water supports life- is it very dry there?

You bring joy to my heart, Sallymander, and bring back memories, too. When I first moved into my house in 1991, the yard was very sterile, too. Heck, I would wake up in the morning and it would be silent: there weren't even any birds singing! Very disconcerting, especially since I grew up in natural woodland. Outdoor insects at my "new" twelve year old house back then composed of mosquitoes and paper wasps (the kind that built nests under the roof eaves).

My approach has never been to attract certain bugs, or planting certain plants that attract certain bugs. I always strive for a natural balance in everything. "If you build it, they will come." I want to have everything (plants, insects and people) live happily in my yard, so I have diverse plantings, with no particular goal in mind, except nature itself. You never know what might turn up, the unusual moth or butterfly (adult or caterpillar), predatory insects you've never heard of before, a myriad of types of spiders and beetles, fungi and lichens of all kinds, and on and on. When everything lives together, there is likely always something that will nibble on a your lilies (for instance) but never any devastation or cause for concern. And the paper wasps? They still visit my flowers, but have gone somewhere else to build their nests. Now I have all kinds of different bees and wasps in my yard.

And yes, building the soil is part of the holistic scheme. For many years, I transported pickup loads of oak leaves from my parents' two acre wooded yard every fall, to incorporate into the soil and as mulching.

My goal is to let nature take the lead in my organized yard. Don't force things to grow where they don't want to, by needing to regularly water, feed, or futz over. Not that there is inherently anything wrong with that, but at the same time, you also force yourself to be diligent about catching problems like disease or insect infestations that can become problematic.

I joke about this, but it is true:
two of my neighbors have hummingbird feeders. The hummingbirds visit them for the sugar, and then they come to my yard for real food (and to nest).

Sal, I forget if you ever mentioned the size of your property.
We live in the country. I allocated 11 acres to nature. No disturbances to that plot. It's a place for beneficial insects to reside. My perennial & annual gardens are in another part of the property and loaded with flowers - a real magnet for insects.
So my suggestion is to have loads of flowers (lavender, Mexican sunflowers, sage, hosta, zinnia) - you get the idea.
Another trick organic growers use in this world of chemical overuse - plant a barrier of trees & bushes & vines between you & your neighbor.
Best of luck with your plans.

We have one acre next to thirty plus acres of woods. We used to live up the hill in the woods in the house the nuclear neighbor tore down to build his McMansion. (we rent, so don't get excited, we are not made of money.) His garage is the size of what our house used to be. When we lived there, gardening was easy. Where we are now, the soil is very badly damaged. We've been six/seven years adding soil amendments, and things are better, but still a long way to go. When we first got here, it was ant universe. You could not dig a hole anywhere in the yard without disturbing an ant colony. Today, I dug here, I dug there, I dug a dozen places before I came across an ant. I know I should be happy, but it's creeping me out to not see bugs of any kind.

Yeah, my primary reason for wanting bugs is to feed the birds. I have several bird baths and I have suet feeders. (I don't do seeds because of the rat issue. It just feels wrong to not have bugs. Didn't see them all summer. I thought for sure the rotting apples would bring some in.

Compost attracts a lot of bugs and butterflies here , A small open bin would do to start.
Fruit seems to be the best loved by my bugs . I hang a wire basket in a tree and put watermelon or pineapple parts and it is covered by insects of all kinds.

The flowers of the garlic chives are covered with many types of bugs right now (late bloomer)
Also goldenrod and boneset
Maybe a small wild patch in the corner of your yard or edge of the woods

Old fashioned celosia! I had a lot of the bright pink kind self sow, it has been volunteering for a few years now, I kept a alot around the vegetable garden This summer. Blooms all summer and keeps making new side shoots with new bloom. Always had honeybees and various bugs on it. Being close to an amaranth I expect birds like the seeds too.

How much of your garden is devoted to lawn?

Lawn is generally dead zone... Very little to attract anything.... Maybe cinch bugs... Japanese beetles and moles....

I'd want to be rid of anything that I was mowing or cutting back.

I really don't much notice the bugs, because mostly everything is in balance...

I am picking leaf foot bugs for the chickens... Earlier this summer, I was picking cabbage caterpillars for the chickens....

Yesterday I saw a group of cardinals hanging out on one specific tree... I didn't figure that that invasive mimosa was providing them anything except cover... Was planning to return and see if there was evidence of what they were eating... But forgot...

There is a nice beauty berry bush there... I've seen them eat those... There's also a stand of poke weed there... I've seen mocking birds eat those... Maybe cardinals too?

Personally... I'd suggest planting native stands of berry and seed producing
Bushes and stuff for the birds... Also flowering plants... Consider... The zinnias and cosmos and echinacea and sunflowers... attract any number of pollinators at my house and then? The birds eat the seeds...

Mulberry has berries and caterpillars for the birds... Elderberry as well.... Last year.... My elderberry patch had tent worms... The birds ate caterpillars and berries that year...

A discussion after my own heart... I could go on and on....

Ditto what pretty much everyone above has said. Start with a water source - like your bird baths. That will attract all kinds of critters. Work on planting things that will attract pollinators, and try to stay away from any type of chemicals. Leave dead leaves, wood and such in place - they will attract various fungi and microbes - it is the natural order of things to start small and build up. The small microbes will attract larger ones, and so on and so on. Feeding the birds is also a great idea.

I have water sources. I compost like crazy. Wood chips, bunny manure, straw, leaves, anything I can get my hands on. I have suet feeders. Rotting apples. and no bees or wasps. It is more than a little concerning.

How about sowing mixed wildflower seed that are native to your environment. Online sellers will help you select your own personal choice mix or ready mixed blends.
They have ready mixed seeds for all zones/ environments.