-
Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.
misc Ladybugs?
- Thread starter adnewr
- Start date
Definitely. The adults will eat some of the aphids, and the larvae will take care of the rest.
Yes, but probably not now. Ladybugs are about the best thing to get - they eradicate aphids in no time. However, that insecticide you sprayed will not only kill aphids, it will also kill ladybugs. You will want to check out the life of the insecticide, though likely it's longer than you need it to be right now. If it's too soon to get ladybugs, you will need to follow an aggressive plan. What kind of "aphid spray" did you get, and how often and how long can you apply it without doing damage to your plants? If it's too strong, you may want to spray down the plants once with it, then switch to insecticidal soap. Insecticidal soap is fairly gentle on plants.Â
Â
Note that the lifecycle of aphids is extremely fast, they multiply at an incredible rate. Some of their stages are rather impervious to insecticides, so frequent repeat sprayings is necessary. If using insecticidal soap you can spray every day. The big thing to know is that just because you don't see any doesn't mean they're really gone. You need to continue spraying for at least a couple weeks after you see no more, to ensure that you get those that are just beginning to hatch.Â
Â
If, on the other hand, you are sure it's been long enough that the insecticide you've already sprayed won't kill the ladybugs, by all means go for it. I order ladybugs from buglogical.com. You can find ladybugs on amazon, but I recommend against going there. The ladybugs I got through amazon were apparently very well-fed on something other than aphids - they simply walked over the aphids and ignored them. The ladybugs I got through buglogical, however, decimated the aphids in no time flat.
Â
Best wishes, which ever way you go.
PS - ladybugs not only eat adult aphids, but even eat aphid eggs and every stage in between.
Â
Note that the lifecycle of aphids is extremely fast, they multiply at an incredible rate. Some of their stages are rather impervious to insecticides, so frequent repeat sprayings is necessary. If using insecticidal soap you can spray every day. The big thing to know is that just because you don't see any doesn't mean they're really gone. You need to continue spraying for at least a couple weeks after you see no more, to ensure that you get those that are just beginning to hatch.Â
Â
If, on the other hand, you are sure it's been long enough that the insecticide you've already sprayed won't kill the ladybugs, by all means go for it. I order ladybugs from buglogical.com. You can find ladybugs on amazon, but I recommend against going there. The ladybugs I got through amazon were apparently very well-fed on something other than aphids - they simply walked over the aphids and ignored them. The ladybugs I got through buglogical, however, decimated the aphids in no time flat.
Â
Best wishes, which ever way you go.
PS - ladybugs not only eat adult aphids, but even eat aphid eggs and every stage in between.
Depending on what aphid spray you used, using lady bugs will be futile if it kills the lady bugs. If you get any make sure you rinse off your plants really well before releasing them. I like maintaining a healthy small spider population on my plants too...any of them I find in the basement go right in the garden.
I make my own spray - dish detergent, mouthwash (with alcohol), and water. The dish detergent clings and the alcohol dries em out. You can Google if you want more information. It works for a wide-range of critters.
Before spraying, I would smash as many as you can with your fingers and/or spray with a jet stream of water. Also look for winged aphids and smash those suckers. The winged ones are actually how they spread.
Â
Then for spraying use a basic insecticidal soap: 2 tsp liquid castille soap (bronners is what i use) to 1 qt water. Spray liberally and ensure contact. It's supposed to dry the suckers out.
Â
If it's really bad and you don't mind the smell or possibly killing some beneficials, mix in a garlic solution to your soap spray. Just steep chopped garlic in warm water over night and dilute it with your soap spray. The soap spray will help the garlic solution stick to the plant.Â
Â
Oh yeah and only spray early morning or evening.
Â
Then for spraying use a basic insecticidal soap: 2 tsp liquid castille soap (bronners is what i use) to 1 qt water. Spray liberally and ensure contact. It's supposed to dry the suckers out.
Â
If it's really bad and you don't mind the smell or possibly killing some beneficials, mix in a garlic solution to your soap spray. Just steep chopped garlic in warm water over night and dilute it with your soap spray. The soap spray will help the garlic solution stick to the plant.Â
Â
Oh yeah and only spray early morning or evening.
Âultravista said:
Dude! alcohol, what a good idea.
Â
Mixed with a biodegradable soap like "Dawn" (is biodegradable) would be great for the first spray then followed up a few day later with an AACT and you have a good system right there.
what's the best place to order ladybugs from?
They've got almost all positive reviews. I'll see what happens.geeme said:
Âadnewr said:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00533KOIC/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1geeme said:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Ok - that's a different seller than the one I bought from. Hopefully they'll do well for you. If not, you might try buglogical.com, which is where I get mine from. There are other reputable sellers out there, of course, and I would recommend doing a search on this site to see where others got theirs if you want to check out more options.