buying ladybirds - is it worth it?

[cinnpie]

Hello,

I've planted 18 climbing roses to hide a bare ugly wall and also have quite a few currant bushes. I've noticed that my red currant bushed have several leaves that are bubbly and red and have white aphids on the underside. some of the top leaves, although not yet discoloured, had an extended family of green aphids. since i want to be able to eat the fruit from the bush, and let my son graze too, i'd prefer not to spray and was considering buying ladybirds. Has anybody done this and was is effective and worth the money?


Thanks!
Cin 8)

[FB.]

I don't bother; the predators will come, given time.
If the plants have ants on them, the ants attack the aphid predators, so that the predators go elsewhere. Stop the ants guarding them and the aphids should be gone within a month. I have a few frogs that hide in shrubbery around the base of the trees and eat ants climbing up and down.
Most people would opt for a grease band, to stop the ants.

I find that my best aphid predator is hoverfly larva. Next best is parasitic wasps (especially good at killing woolly aphid). Ladybird and Lacewing larva are much scarcer.
I also seem to have a robin that keeps pecking at something on my fruit trees, so I guess he's taking aphids, or ants, too.

[chrispy]

whats a grease band FB? is that like a dab of vasoline on the stem of the rose? have got loads of blummin aphids on my roses, am rubbing them off every day

[lynda66]

i've lived here 4 years and seen 2 ladybirds and planty of aphids ... if theres not many around i reckon it's a good thing to buy some lets face it nature needs all the help it can get at the moment

[Two_Sheds]

I get loads of ladybirds and hoverflies .. perhaps it's down to not using bug-sprays and chemicals?
I also grow Limnanthes (poached egg) which attracts adult hoverflies to its nectar (and hoverfly larvae eat lots of aphids).

[FB.]

I get loads of ladybirds and hoverflies .. perhaps it's down to not using bug-sprays and chemicals?
I also grow Limnanthes (poached egg) which attracts adult hoverflies to its nectar (and hoverfly larvae eat lots of aphids).

Yes, I don't use any chemicals at all. It can take a few seasons for the natural balance to recover, once you stop using chemicals.
I also have some Limnanthes, as well as many other "insect friendly" plants, although the hoverflies seem quite happy licking at the last of my apple blossoms.

I allow some of my stronger apples to get over-run with pests. Eventually the predators arrive and I can move a few larvae onto other plants that need protection.

How much does it cost for ladybird or hoverfly larva?
Could the forum members post live hoverfly larvae to each other, via next-day post? I would have thought that they'd survive 18-24 hours in the post, so long as they didn't get squashed.

Hmmm......I might have to find a willing forum member to receive some live hoverfly larvae from me in coming weeks/months (to see if they survive the post!), once my predator populations are up to a good size.

[lynda66]

i've never used chemicals ... and judging by the state of the garden when i moved in, neither had the previous occupant ...

will happily take some hoverfly larvae off you i did have a few hoverflies last year, but wouldn't say i was over run ... and have sowed load of wildflowers at the bottom of the garden this year in my new wildlife area and plenty of flowers in the garden

[Tam]

The common or garden wasp is also a useful predator at this time of year - it is only in the autumn that they become a bit of a nuisance amongst the ripening fruit.

[SarzWix]

I've bought ladybirds before, from Wiggly Wigglers, both adults and larvae. The adults went into the front garden, onto my roses. They seemed to really like being in/on the sunflowers too. I saw at least half a dozen out there last year too, so hopefully I've got an established 'colony' now! The larvae I got for the allotment last year, but I don't know if there's any adults still there yet.

[Keith2202]

Is there a way to tell a hoverfly larvae?

Looking at the pictures on google, they look very much like what I thought were caterpillars last year and was squishing on the assusmption they were munching on the leaves, doh!

[Pumpkin Becki]

I bought some ladybird larvae last year from an online company (can't remember who), but had a really poor success rate. Only one of the larvae looked big and healthy, the others were small and bearly moving, and some were already dead when they arrived. Only the big one actually survived and changed into a ladybird.

[Rossa]

greengardeners.co.uk were selling ladybird larvae, but I just googled their site and it didn't come up, so I don't know if it's still going. They were selling a ladybird kit with a "house" and food so that you could watch them hatch before releasing the in the garden. Don't know if anywhere else does it.

[funstuie]

Discovered this on another site, thought it might be of interest to some here:

Adult Ladybirds and Lavae - Buy Online

[d000hg]

Sorry to raise such an old thread but it came up top on Google when looking into this...

I've read the discussions here about predators coming naturally but I have never seen a ladybird in 3 years here, or much else really other than loads of snails and sometimes some ants, and loads and loads of aphids! I'm thinking this is because I live in the city with a small town garden - I never have a problem with birds eating my fruit for instance, I think they just don't twig we're here!

So would people recommend getting some LBs? Because my garden is small it is pretty 'full' so I guess pests are quickly spreading from plant to plant - my roses, currants and strawberries seem to be favourite and while they seem able to cope, I'd rather they didn't have to and I prefer not to have to murder the bugs myself

[Cadalot]

I grow Limnanthes (poached egg) and the predators come and feast on the aphids, other people on my allotment who don't grow the Limnanthes don't understand why they have problems and I don't.