Ladybugs

[Carol Dee]

No self respecting aphid, mite, white fly or any other bug that lady bugs eat (or their look-alikes, Asian Beetles) would come within miles of our area, and if they do, they are summarily eaten by the millions, no billions of lady bugs we get here in Northeast, PA.

Each Fall, after the corn crops are cut down, we are inundated with Lady Bugs throughout our house. The problem gets so bad, we actually have to vacuum ceilings, floors and around windows sometimes twice a day. It seems the Lady Bugs are looking for a warm place to winter. They will get in through any nook or cranny, and are especially attracted to light color houses. So with an old farm house that is white, we get bombarded. They then winter in the walls and in the Spring it seems there are twice as many. It really is a problem in this area, and many other rural areas in the country.

After the first few years in our house, we decided to get insect bombs. We set them off in the cellar and attic, and went out for the afternoon. It helped, but we have to perform this extermination every couple of years, because vacuuming alone only gets a small percentage. I don't like the idea of using a pesticide in my house at all, but I am tired of constantly vacuuming, accidentally drinking, sitting on, stepping on and swatting away Lady Bugs in my own house.

@MoonShadows are they lady bugs or Asian Beetles in the house. We have same problem with Asian Beetles.

 

[TReeves]

I'll look at the other thread. I can't in good conscience glue their wings. She brought them home and handed them to me and said they were free. Hopefully they'll stay if not my feelings won't be hurt. I think I've seen maybe 10 ladybugs in the year and a half we've been here.

 

[Smart Red]

I suspect that the lady bugs your daughter bought are indeed lady bugs. Read that other thread to see what I think of the Asian Ladybird beetles that were imported to help take down agricultural pests. Those are the hordes that fly in the fall seeking a place to overwinter. Lady bugs are the best!

 

[baymule]

@TReeves be sure to Google pics of ladybug larvae. They are black and orange kinda striped, look like ant lions. They eat lots of aphids too. But they look like an invader, just make sure to identify so you don't squish them!

 

[Smart Red]

Thank you, Bay. Gardeners need to know the garden helpers at all stages of their lives. Lady bug larva and great predators and often are seen as pests.

 

[TReeves]

These are real live ladybugs not the ladybirds or the really ugly Asian ones. We put them out tonight. We'll see what happens next.

 

[hoodat]

The adult ladybug (lady bird if you're a Brit) doesn't eat that many aphids but they lay eggs that grow into nymphs and in that stage they never stop prowling and eat every aphid they find. There are tiny predator wasps that are also very effective on aphids. Make sure there are plants with small flowers in your garden for them to get nectar in the adult stage. They have an ovipositor that puts the egg inside the aphid and the larvae grow inside the aphid. You know they are around when you see dried shells of what were once aphids on your plants. Hoverflies are also predacious on aphids.

 

[Smart Red]

As a bit of added advice: If you see tomato hornworms with white "eggs" on their back, you can remove them from your tomato plants, but do not kill them. The eggs are those of a predatory wasp that uses the hornworm to feed its babies. You want to encourage those predatory wasps to stick around so leave the "feeder" worm alive.

 

[hoodat]

By the time you see those cocoons (which is what they really are) on their backs the hornworms insides have been all but destroyed. Even though they may still be on your plant they are no longer doing any damage. By this time they might be termed the walking dead.

 

[Smart Red]

Thank you for the clarification, Hoodat!