Has anyone tried ladybugs for pest control?

[Katie0317]

I found this by accident while reading about aphids. Aphids are an issue for anyone growing roses and while my rose garden is a good distance from our bonsai plants I wondered if anyone has tried this. Aphids will eat most plants. The reviews were impressive. Just curious if anyone has given this a try?

 

[Pelicano919]

My wife tried a container of over 200 ladybugs on her vegetable garden and the next morning observed the most engorged lizard on one of her tomato plants. She remarked that all that was missing was the lizard was not smoking a cigar.

 

[rockm]

Of course the reviews are awesome. It's a sales pitch.

This is not really all that effective, as the ladybugs will simply fly away. Unless you have acres of land and release (properly) tens of thousands of bugs, it's not going to do much good.

Lady bugs need special care to control aphids in the garden

Green news from the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources

ucanr.edu

 

[penumbra]

This is not really all that effective, as the ladybugs will simply fly away.

This is what I have heard from those who have tried it. Apparently it is great for in a greenhouse though.

 

[ShadyStump]

I tried this in my garden twice this summer already, and haven't noticed enough of an effect to make it worth spending money on in the future. I imagine you'd have to have quite the infestation of aphids to encourage the ladybugs to stick around your yard more than a day or two.

I will say, though, that I don't feel like it was a complete waste. I have neighbors with gardens, and there are many others within a block of my house. While I might not have made a significant impact immediately on MY garden, having a couple thousand extra ladybugs around the neighborhood probably will contribute to controlling aphid infestations for everyone, which reduces the likelihood of a nasty attack on my plants.

Long and short; they won't solve your immediate problem in your garden, but may contribute to controlling aphids in your greater area. Only do it if you're down to support efforts in the community at large.

 

[jeremy_norbury]

I never believed it, until about 6 weeks ago I discovered a garden tree had hundreds of ladybird larvae in it after I cut off a few branches.

I collected them and found a couple of bonsai with aphids - needless to say these larvae cleared out every single aphid in 1 day...

IMG_8151 by Jerry Norbury, on Flickr

IMG_8145 by Jerry Norbury, on Flickr

 

[RJG2]

I never believed it, until about 6 weeks ago I discovered a garden tree had hundreds of ladybird larvae in it after I cut off a few branches.

I collected them and found a couple of bonsai with aphids - needless to say these larvae cleared out every single aphid in 1 day...

IMG_8151 by Jerry Norbury, on Flickr

IMG_8145 by Jerry Norbury, on Flickr

I was going to suggest this! If you can find larvae, they don't fly away, and are faster!

 

[jimib]

I’ve used them. If there’s food they will stay, but the larvae can do some serious damage to the aphids. Release them at dusk, I hear they fly by sunlight. If they find a food source at night they’ll stay. I’ve also read to spray a little water/7 Up mixture on them…it keeps the wings shut for a few days to prevent them from flying, gives them more time to look for food.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Never tried it outdoors as I have so many outside, buying them would be like bringing sand to the beach. Back in April when my Tropical was infested with aphids the weather got warm enough to resurrect some ladybugs. I was still battling Aphids so I brought in some reinforcements. Just two (Larry & Curly). And yes they would fly to the window to get out on several occasions but always end up back on the tree. I also got lucky enough for them to lay eggs.

Larry.


Curly


I believe this was the cause of death for the lady bugs. I blamed the vacuum at one point, but she's a killer, all 5 LBS.

 

[waydeo]

If she eats jap beetles I may have a job for your pup. Lol.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

If she eats jap beetles I may have a job for your pup. Lol.

Shipping is expensive, but she's so friendly she's easily kidnapped by treats! She also kills bunnies when I turn my back for a second goes right for the throat like a Jaguar. Not a fan of Japanese beetles at all pretty sure she'd bark at Ringo though.

 

[HamburgerTrain]

I tried this a few days ago. It was fun as hell releasing them, better than fireworks!

 

[ArmZ]

I tried, it was fun to release the 300 ladybugs. Most decided to fly away immediatelly, only 10 stayed in the plants.
Bu next day all of them were gone.
Got better results with systemic insecticide (on non edible plants/trees) applied during the winter and again late spring.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Never tried it outdoors as I have so many outside, buying them would be like bringing sand to the beach. Back in April when my Tropical was infested with aphids the weather got warm enough to resurrect some ladybugs. I was still battling Aphids so I brought in some reinforcements. Just two (Larry & Curly). And yes they would fly to the window to get out on several occasions but always end up back on the tree. I also got lucky enough for them to lay eggs.

Larry.

View attachment 445565
Curly
View attachment 445566View attachment 445567

I believe this was the cause of death for the lady bugs. I blamed the vacuum at one point, but she's a killer, all 5 LBS.

View attachment 445568

Are you sure these not look alike invaders?

 

[sorce]

"if you build it...."

They definitely come!

I haven't gone a day without seeing a larvae since I started seeing larvae!

Plant some "trap crops". Any Squash, Sunflower is a haven for everything, Nasturtium......

I've heard shipped in ones can bring disease to local populations.

One larvae can clear a tree in a day.

Sorce

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Are you sure these not look alike invaders?

Yeah, the two I grabbed from the yard are Asian lady beetles, but they do eat aphids.

 

[penumbra]

Lady Bugs are voracious feeders , for which we can be grateful. It is not a new age practice to employ them. Savvy gardeners have noticed their benefit for many decades publicly and I am sure our grandparents generation and those before them deployed them, perhaps for centuries. The thing with using mature ladybugs, is that as they mature their natural instinct is to fly away. There are a few tricks people have used over the years to keep them around for awhile, and even the time of release during the day is pertinent. Unfortunately I cannot specifically remember these tricks as it has been 30 or 40 years since I have had any experience with them, other than the ones that occur naturally. It is true that the larvae, if you can encourage them, are a much better choice. Thing is, many people think bugs are creepy and some like the beloved ladybug are not recognized in larvae form.
And of course we do kill them when we spay insecticides. They don't need to be the target to be decimated.
I applaud all of you who see the benefit of these beautiful little creatures.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

... until about 6 weeks ago I discovered a garden tree had hundreds of ladybird larvae in it ....

I also found loads and loads of those larvae in my garden around 2 months ago (it really looked like an invasion) .
At that time I didn't knew what they were exactly because I thought ladybird larvae looked different.
But I searched Google for images and found out the larvae were Asian ladybirds (Aziatisch lieveheersbeestjes).

 

[coh]

Lady Bugs are voracious feeders , for which we can be grateful. It is not a new age practice to employ them. Savvy gardeners have noticed their benefit for many decades publicly and I am sure our grandparents generation and those before them deployed them, perhaps for centuries. The thing with using mature ladybugs, is that as they mature their natural instinct is to fly away. There are a few tricks people have used over the years to keep them around for awhile, and even the time of release during the day is pertinent. Unfortunately I cannot specifically remember these tricks as it has been 30 or 40 years since I have had any experience with them, other than the ones that occur naturally. It is true that the larvae, if you can encourage them, are a much better choice. Thing is, many people think bugs are creepy and some like the beloved ladybug are not recognized in larvae form.
And of course we do kill them when we spay insecticides. They don't need to be the target to be decimated.
I applaud all of you who see the benefit of these beautiful little creatures.

Yes - it is the larvae that are the really voracious eaters. Adult ladybugs are still helpful but don't eat nearly as many aphids as the larvae. I think others have mentioned, if you have a supportive natural environment you'll almost certainly have a decent sized natural population of ladybugs. If you don't - releasing adults might help a bit but most of them will fly away seeking better locations. So I'd work toward establishing a healthy ecosystem first. That would mean letting some vegetation (trees, shrubs, maybe even grasses) grow nearby, avoiding use of pesticides as much as possible, etc. We have a large old box elder tree near the bonsai garden and in the spring/summer, we have large numbers of ladybug larvae that drop down onto the bonsai. I rarely have any aphid problems.

 

[ShadyStump]

Diversifying the conversation a bit here, but I don't kill spiders when my kids freak out about one in the house. I catch them and move them to the garden.
I've been having more trouble with grasshoppers this year than aphids, so I was disappointed when the garden shop was out of praying mantis. Spiders - especially wolf spiders and other stalking species - and scorpions are pretty damn good about the job, but a little more pesky to people. Just watch where you put your hands when weeding.