Sherry Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 We bought a bag of aphid assassins yesterday-actually a bag of 1500 ladybugs! I had thought about ordering them, but was afraid they would all come in dead after an ordeal with the USPO! But we found them at a boutique nursery so I bought a mesh sack full of ladybugs and wood shavings. Needless to say, GS was fascinated! At dusk, we sprayed the rose bushes with water to scatter the aphids and then let them go. Only letting 1500 bugs loose is not as easy as it sounds! Some stuck to the sack, probably 200 were dead, and the rest went everywhere! We all had ladybugs all over us, and Colten thought it was the funniest thing that had ever happened. he just really wanted to keep them all in the house! I know that he'll want to go hunt for them as soon as he wakes up. So anyway-for some fun family entertainment-buy bugs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 BUY ladybugs? As in go to a store and actually pay someone for a bagful of them? Good grief! If we have another infestation of the nasties I know exactly who to send them to!lol You haven't lived until you & everything around you is covered in ladybugs flying into your eyes & up your nose and squishing into stinky yellowish goo puddles underfoot. EW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I'd be glad to share mine too !!! Every spring and fall they get disoriented and go for anything warm and light colored. Hence all the houses get polka-dotted and many come inside and cluster in the ceiling corners - super gross !!!! The vacuum lives out in the middle of the floor during those times. We just finished up with them for the spring season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfieldzoo Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Before we got new windows I had them get in one of the bedrooms. It was like a scene from poltergeist! I want to buy some praying mantis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 I can't imagine, you don't see a lot of them or any other bug but crickets here because of the farmers and their aerial spraying. And skeeters, of course. Just put them in a box and send them on! Seriously though, they are a great, natural way to control garden pests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intrinsicat Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I would imagine that would be fun... but my daughter will have nothing to do with ladybugs after watching an AP program where the guy explained that under stressful conditions ladybugs will bite - and as an example, he was releasing them from a bag and explaining how they were biting him! Suddenly ladybugs moved up on the list of things she doesn't like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I want to buy some praying mantis. There was a mini praying mantis on the gatepost a couple of days ago. It couldn't have been any more than 3/8 of an inch long and perfectly formed. I hope it lives long enough to multiply, but at least having seen the baby, I now know that there are some adults nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 Those are great for kid gardens too. Have you ever seen any of the giant sized ones? I have in a zoo, but never in my garden, my dogs would probably run from it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfieldzoo Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I have them in the area. They are about 6 inches long. I went to get gas one day and one was sitting on the gas pump, so I picked it up and moved it to some nearby bushes. Then I regretted not taking it home. They are very cool. I like how they tilt their head when you talk to them. Lady bugs bite. Especially the orange (asian) ones. I no longer hold them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 they are a great, natural way to control garden pests.Really? They always avoided our garden like the plague, it was much more fun for them to get into the house/ car/ camper & annoy us! And they don't have to be provoked to bite, BTW. I used to buy into that "harmless, good against garden pests" hype once. We used to have lovely huge praying mantises that lined in the big magnolia grandiflora in our front yard when we lived in SC. I've been told they also bite when provoked, but as they don't come swarm onto us I've never had one bite me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1888VictorianWI Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 For those that are saying they have tons of ladybugs..... are you sure what you have isn't the Asian Beetle? They look like a ladybug except they are more orange instead of red and they do squish into a smelly yellow goo and tend to be the ones that try to come in when it gets cool outside etc. Ladybugs usually aren't as visible or numerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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