buying ladybirds - is it worth it?

[jackarmy]

Get a plastic pop bottle and cut off the neck where it squares off. Invert the top of the bottle into the big part of the bottle ( does that make sense ? ) , get a stick, find a bunch of nettles and knock them into the bottle .

video on Clifton Chilli Club on the toob

[d000hg]

Worth a try if I can find a bit of 'outdoors' to explore. There's a nice walk I haven't done for a long time, maybe I'll go hunting

[Gillykat]

No need to waste money buying predators - just focus on getting nectar-rich flowers in your garden or on your plot and that will encourage the hoverflies in which will help keep the aphids in balance Grow stuff like Poached Egg (Limnanthes), Californian Poppy, Nasturtium, Verbena bonariensis, French Marigolds etc.

Get rid of all poisons and sprays, grow nectar-rich flowers and the natural balance will sort itself out. A few aphids won't do any damage as it's all part of Nature - it's only the human race which insist on everything being sterile and lifeless And that is when problems begin in the garden Work WITH Nature and not against her and soon you'll have a healthy living garden that is a joy to be in

[d000hg]

My garden is pretty attractive to bees - doesn't that imply it is already meeting those requirements? I see the odd hoverfly but after 3 years the aphids are still covering every rosebud and the growing tips of strawberries in a solid green carpet.

A 5x5m town garden is fundamentally NOT natural, it's a very small oasis in a desert of bricks and concrete. The natural state of such land is to be choked with dandelions, buddleia and not much else!! Netting your fruit trees is not natural, neither is grafting fruit trees in the first place, so transporting natural predators is hardly worse.

As you say, the greenfly don't ravage plants too much but I've had my gooseberry stripped bare twice by larvae, the predators are dozing on the job

[Martin H]

All those greenfly will help the predators that find them grow fat and have lots of offspring. In time the garden will find a balance, as long as you aren't so tidy that the predators can't find places to overwinter.

[skeggijon]

I think buying Ladybirds is a brilliant idea - in fact if you want, I can sell you loads!

[Jungle Jane]

A 5x5m town garden is fundamentally NOT natural, it's a very small oasis in a desert of bricks and concrete.

That's why they're choosing not to breed there,if they visit & leave. I've heard of people buying the larvae but then the ladybirds flying away,to find suitable grounds. Nettle aphid are a good early food source,I have a little area (a few of them) left wild & untouched they like that. Have you looked at what their needs are & does your garden supply all their needs,if they'd be happy there then get some?

[FB.]

I think buying Ladybirds is a brilliant idea - in fact if you want, I can sell you loads!

What's the going rate for a ladybird? And what about hoverfly?
Are larvae worth more because they're ready for action immediately?

I find hoverfly larvae are my most effective aphid control.

On a more serious note: go to a local community orchard or a hedgerow or some local woodland and there will be plenty of ladybirds around and nobody would mind if a few dozen were re-homed.

Unfortunately, there needs to be an initial infestation of aphids to attract the ladybirds and hoverflies. So if they're too efficient and eat all the aphids they'll be short of food supply and wander off somewhere else.

I've also mentioned before that bees seem to like to stop at aphid colonies probably for the same reason as ants farm aphids: the sugary excrement.
So 'nuking' the aphids with chemicals could kill bees or even small birds which also feed on aphids.

[chrisdb]

A 5x5m town garden is fundamentally NOT natural, it's a very small oasis in a desert of bricks and concrete.

I was wondering the other day why a green strip down the middle of a road in Nottingham centre appeared to be an insect deadzone, despite a diverse array of shrubs and weeds growing there. Unless the car fumes killed them all, I think you're right that a certain minimum connected habit size must be required to get the place buzzing, but I have no idea what that size is. The narrowness probably didn't help, since I suspect insects don't have good lane discipline.

I certainly see a lot more insect activity in my new garden (~400 m2) than my old garden (~20 m2), although the surroundings are also greener - in my old terraced house almost everyone nearby had paved over their front and/or back gardens, so again you had the green oasis in a concrete jungle effect.

Does anyone have an what the minimum area of good habit a garden or group of neighbouring gardens needs to cover in order to support a 'good' ecosystem of insects and creepy crawlies, if there is such a minimum?

[sugar]

I would never buy Ladybirds. Just take a walk with a(n empty) matchbox, you should be capable of catching 20 ladybirds on the side of the road within 10 minutes. Release them in your garden, they will mate and...

[sugar]

I
Does anyone have an what the minimum area of good habit a garden or group of neighbouring gardens needs to cover in order to support a 'good' ecosystem of insects and creepy crawlies, if there is such a minimum?

My former garden (3 m x 25 m in the middle of all concrete) never became a good ecosystem, so I guess there is a minimum