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pests Aphid question

No, I've only used ladybugs, as they're extremely effective. Ladybugs eat all stages of aphids, from egg to adult, so once the aphids are gone, they're really gone. Many insecticides only kill the larval and adult stages, but not the eggs.
 
I did a Google search on "where to buy ladybugs in England" and "where to buy ladybirds in England" and quite a few sites came up, so you might try that. 
 
geeme said:
No, I've only used ladybugs, as they're extremely effective. Ladybugs eat all stages of aphids, from egg to adult, so once the aphids are gone, they're really gone. Many insecticides only kill the larval and adult stages, but not the eggs.
 
I did a Google search on "where to buy ladybugs in England" and "where to buy ladybirds in England" and quite a few sites came up, so you might try that. 
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In theory, they would be most effective indoors/greenhouses, but are they still fairly effective when used outside in the garden? I have been battling a small case of aphids on my bhut and they may be spreading, so I was contemplating buying some.
 
If they are worth trying, do you use any sort of containment to keep them in the general vicinity (nets, etc) or do you just kind of dump them on the effected plant/area? 
 
I have always used soapy water for aphids. As well as ant bait. But I use container's to grow in, next year will be first year in ground.
 
if you take a standard coke made with sugar, put it in a spray bottle and spray your Lady Bugs before letting them lose, the syrup in the coke will "cement" their wings to their bodies for a day or so....
 
the first thing Lady Bugs do when they are released is mate...and mate, and mate....therefore if you have their wings dealt with, the eggs will be laid on the plants before the LB's leave....and that is what you want....LB larvae are extremely ravenous and aphids are their favorite salad, main course, and desert...
 
Interesting idea with the coke, I likes it.
 
outlaw said:
 
In theory, they would be most effective indoors/greenhouses, but are they still fairly effective when used outside in the garden? I have been battling a small case of aphids on my bhut and they may be spreading, so I was contemplating buying some.
 
If they are worth trying, do you use any sort of containment to keep them in the general vicinity (nets, etc) or do you just kind of dump them on the effected plant/area? 
Click to expand...
 
One of the best uses of ladybugs I've seen was here, when someone (name escapes me) used a camping tent to segregate his plants before releasing them.
 
you know, just thinking here...if  you want to make sure the lady bugs lay their eggs, you could take some cheese cloth and section off a limb with it, then release the lady bugs inside the cheese cloth....they would mate and have to lay their eggs there....3 or 4 days should be enough then you could take the cheese cloth off...all you really need to do is get them started and they will hang around as long as there is something to eat...I always consider it a good thing when I don't see lady bugs on my plants...
 
geeme said:
No, I've only used ladybugs, as they're extremely effective. Ladybugs eat all stages of aphids, from egg to adult, so once the aphids are gone, they're really gone. Many insecticides only kill the larval and adult stages, but not the eggs.
 
I did a Google search on "where to buy ladybugs in England" and "where to buy ladybirds in England" and quite a few sites came up, so you might try that. 
Click to expand...
 
I could easily just collect ladybirds from the local parks. However the problem is confined to a very dry and hot conservatory that see's minimum ventilation, only spiders & aphids/whitefly seem to thrive in there. I don't want to release ladybirds into an environment that would kill them within a day or two.
 
I think sulphur would only make it a not as appealing place for the aphids to live, I dont think it will actually kill them. (only assuming)
Pyrethrum seems to work well for me and does not really damage the plants.
 
scotchnaga85 said:
 
I could easily just collect ladybirds from the local parks. However the problem is confined to a very dry and hot conservatory that see's minimum ventilation, only spiders & aphids/whitefly seem to thrive in there. I don't want to release ladybirds into an environment that would kill them within a day or two.
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One of the big keys with ladybugs is giving them both a food source and a water source. If you spray the plants with water every day, that should suffice. If you can run a humidifier in there, as well, even better. Even just create some small puddles of water for them to find. 
 
I've released ladybugs both inside my house and outside. Both wiped out the aphids in no time flat. I had a cilantro plant that was teaming with aphids (that was the ants' favorite place to farm them) and it only took maybe 3 days for them to be gone. And yes, the ladybugs left once all the yummies disappeared. A fond farewell to that batch...
 
I used a spray bottle with some concentrated dawn and wiped them out in no time! Sprayed couple times a day.... Make sure to spray the undersides of the leaves good as they seem to like it under the leaves... The soap washes their wax coating off and they dry out.... You will find dead aphids dried out stuck to your leaves.....
 
Islander said:
I used a spray bottle with some concentrated dawn and wiped them out in no time! Sprayed couple times a day.... Make sure to spray the undersides of the leaves good as they seem to like it under the leaves... The soap washes their wax coating off and they dry out.... You will find dead aphids dried out stuck to your leaves.....
Click to expand...
 
The problem with this is that the Dawn will not kill the eggs, so keep an eye out - you have to keep spraying for days after you see no more aphids to ensure you get the newly-hatched ones as well, before they reproduce.
 
geeme said:
The problem with this is that the Dawn will not kill the eggs, so keep an eye out - you have to keep spraying for days after you see no more aphids to ensure you get the newly-hatched ones as well, before they reproduce.
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I think i ended up spraying them every day or every other day for about a week. And it also rained quite a bit during that time so that helped washed the soap down which also helped wash the aphids off causing them to DRY and DIE! Man was i glad that small battle was over! Lol
 
I used sulfur this summer, but I mixed it in with a mild fertilizer. It didn't help evict a stubborn aphid squatter community, but in fairness I wasn't using it for that.

This isn't a particularly helpful as much as it is a public concession to those filthy bastards. I actually lost my (hardfought) battle with aphids to several Bhut and Red Savina Hab plants this summer. It was only my second encounter with them, so maybe I'm revealing my inexperience, but I've tried most of the methods listed in here except for ladybugs (Neem, soap water, and nearly daily crushing failed to rid the infestation), and in the end my plants being the battlegound to months of war didn't survive.

I'm going to try again in the Spring. I'll probably try the ladybug thing then. I'm really not keen on turning to Permethrin, but it is a last resort option.
 
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