Tips on how to keep ladybugs in my yard?

iiiigardener 4/16/2013, 3:02 pm

I am new to SFG this year but have grown lots of herbs and flowers in the past. I have always had problems encouraging purchased and released ladybugs to stay in my yard. I release them and watch them fly away. Any suggests on ways to encourage them to stay put? I found a bunch of aphids yesterday and would like to try ladybugs. Can they be used in conjunction with Neem Oil or Insecticidal Soap?

Thanks!

quiltbea 4/16/2013, 3:59 pm

Place a frame over the plants with the aphids on it, cover with tulle or old lace curtains or light-weight row cover and secure it shut. Release the ladies inside the cage and leave the cage in place for a few days. That will help acclimate them to their new neighborhood and keep them local a bit longer. You can even move the cage over other infested plants and take the ladies with you.

You can use wire hoops or half cut hula hoops as your frame or even wire clothes hangers bent in arcs placed over the plants. Even 4 bamboo stakes placed around the plant can be covered with row cover. Use binder clips or spring clothes pins to hold the covering in place.

Good luck.

iiiigardener 4/16/2013, 5:18 pm

Thanks - I'll try that. Do you know if Neem or insecticidal soap will hurt the ladybugs?

jjlonsdale 4/16/2013, 7:15 pm

Don't want to co-opt the thread, but I've been wondering if DE (diatomaceous earth) will hurt ladybug LARVAE. I have lots of them (as well as lots of ants and aphids!) and it would be awesome if I could use DE to get rid of the ants while keeping all my wonderful happy ladybugs around. They're still larvae, so they don't have exoskeletons yet, right? So the DE won't hurt them, right? :scratch:

**camprn** 4/16/2013, 7:26 pm

http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/de.html

Check the stickies at the top of the "PESTS" sub forum for specific product information.

Triciasgarden 4/16/2013, 7:33 pm

iiiigardener also make sure you have a water source. I read that one time, I haven't tried it as the time I released lady bugs they did just what your ladies did!

jjlonsdale, I don't know enough to give any advice, sorry.

iiiigardener 4/16/2013, 11:46 pm

Hi, Tricia:

By water source, do you mean some sort of pond or running water or bird bath? We're having problems with mosquitoes right now (warnings about West Nile Virus), so I want to be sure not to do anything to encourage those.

On a good news front, I actually found a "volunteer" ladybug in my beds this afternoon. Probably released by some poor soul down the block from me.

Coelli 4/16/2013, 11:52 pm

iiiigardener wrote:On a good news front, I actually found a "volunteer" ladybug in my beds this afternoon. Probably released by some poor soul down the block from me.

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Tips on how to keep ladybugs in my yard?

Tips on how to keep ladybugs in my yard?

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water source?

Re: Tips on how to keep ladybugs in my yard?

Re: Tips on how to keep ladybugs in my yard?


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