Im thinking about ordering 20,000 Lady bugs for my green house
..

there was another Bug but i really forgot its name and the site i found them on is no longer as of today so ?


Thanks for help tammy

What are the types of pests? There are some great parasitic insects , but they are very specific.
Mantis212

Aphids and moths some small fruit flys .. I was thinking of some Preying mantis as well.. but really didnt want to do anything with out asking advice .

I try hard to grow with out using pestasides as im scared of them .. Long story...

im more afraid of my citrus crop being eaten be for me and the kids (neighbors children and nieces and nephews) get to harvest ...

the little ones are learning to be carefull and are injoying the lessons and the questions are comming left and right from them all .. Its a Blast ..Tammy

Praying Mantids would be a blast for your kids out in the yard for spring and summer but they would not control enough to save any plants from infestation inside. Ladybugs & Lacewings (both very cool for kids)would really help with Aphids. Are your small flies all black or are they greenish with red eyes? You can find small yellow sticky fly traps that you place in and around your pots.( a little morbid but very effective) They work by removing as many of the breeding adults as possible. You should do a google search for -Benificial Insects- and alot of great garden bio- supply companies will have long lists of helpful bugs for above and below the soil for sale.

A few drops of mild dish liquid in a spray bottle works best for me. Mantis212

LOL the dish soap thats funny thats what i use alot as well as sometimes add a little bleach not much im allergic to it ...

thank you i will do a google ..

the flies are um well there are some green eyes are you kidding i cant even see them half the time unless one gets on my nose ..

and some are brown .. ill do a google thanks thats how i found this site and seeing Laaz on another site im on .. when i joined i was like Right on cool .. this place has been alot of help thank you all tammy

That was very funny!

If they are all dark and hover alot arond the soil. They are Fungus Gnats. and If they had lolololololol red eyes and a greenish body they are real Fruit flyies. Have one of the kids who's going to enjoy the fruits of your labor to look at the little flying guys up close. It will help you find its benificial counterpart.

Mantis212

I have used benificial bugs in my greenhouse, mostly ladybugs. They did a good job ridding the aphids. The main problem with using bugs to control greenhouse pests is that once they eat all, or even most of their prey, they VERY QUICKLY starve to death. Also you must screen all of your vents and doors to keep them from escaping, especially the exhaust fans. We have praying mantis naturally in our area, and I find them in the greenhouse from time to time. However, they don't seem to control all that many insects. It sounds like a good idea, but not all that it is cracked up to be. - Millet

20,000 lady bugs sounds like a lot! I have 1 lady bug in my sunroom that is still alive. He just flew in the door last fall. I have no aphids but had a problem with fungus gnats in there, so I guess that's what's keeping it alive all this time. If I can find it, I'll put it in my mini greenhouse (plastic zippered blanket bag) as I see fungus gnats in there with my tiny seedlings.

Ha Ha...Just found 2 lady bugs in sunroom & moved them to my mini greenhouse. One was big & one small. They should both fatten up in there from all the fungus gnats!
Next fall, I will catch a few to keep in sunroom for winter

there is a girl in washing ton who has an Upper bed room used to be an attic thats loaded ..

I about died when she pulled out the raid ...UGGGGGGH

now she has moved and there is a beautiful garden the lady has been looking for lady bugs so i told her about the room and Yippy there are thousands ..

its an awesome place 4 hugs green houses and 1 acre for Mini horses ..Tammy

In the mountains about 45 miles south of my place is a mountain called "Devils Head." It is a natural breeding area for lady bugs. I guess they have been breeding there for centuries. In the spring there are millions of lady bugs. The huge rocks are so packed with the lady bugs you literally almost cannot see the surface of the rocks. You could easily chatch gallon buckets full of ladybugs in a very short time. However, I believe it is against the law with in the breeding boundries. But it is rather exciting to visit at that time of the year. You leave with them all over you clothing. - Millet

Millet id love to see a picture of that .. sounds very pretty ..


PS sent you a responce in pm Tammy

I've been reading up on beneficial insects, but there isn't much practical advice available.

For example, it seems ladybug larva eat aphids. One can't just feed them some sugar, they need bugs. The ladybug life cycle goes like this:

eggs: hatch in about a week (can't eat, aphid holiday)
larva: mature in about 3 weeks. can eat 100s of aphids per day.
pupa: about a week (won't eat, aphid holiday)
adult: lay eggs in a two or three weeks. Can eat 50 aphids, scales or mites per day. It isn't clear how long an adult will live.

The cycle is slowed by low temperatures.

Thus, one must maintain an active aphid population on some unimportant plant such as fenel. The 'aphid' host provides a nursery for maintaining the ladybug lifecycle. Additionally, a burst in the aphid population will induce ladybugs to visit, but the 'real' benefit doesn't come for about 2 weeks, since the ladybug larva are the best aphid eaters, and they emerge from eggs a week or two after the adult ladybugs arrive.

Just checked my mini grnhouse and the fungus gnats are dissappearing. I have 2 different lady bugs in there... one is a darker red color with 3 black dots on each side. I forgot what they're really called. They look just like a L bug...and they BITE. The city brought a bunch here (from Asia?) to eat a certain insect and they rapidly reproduced. The REAL L bug in my grnhouse is a lite orange with more spots on it.

I forgot to raise the blind in my dining room today.. I think the lady bug i had transplanted there was not happy about not getting her regular sunning.. I found her back with my citrus!! of all places ON the venus fly trap!!! It is an orange with black spots also.. I'm amazed it is still alive.. must have been something to keep it going in the dining room..
I know I had a green lady bug on an african violet once.. ate the leaves all gone!!! I've never smashed a bug so quick..
Gina *BabyBlue*