Let's talk Lady Birds.

[Jessiebean]

... and other beneficial insects.
I have whitefly and aphids and possibly scale (it is something orange or black and fuzzy on the undersides of bramble leaves) and would looooove to lure some beneficial inescts to live in my garden. What has worked for you?
Has anyone just bought them in and had success?

[MKG]

You can introduce them - but only if their food supply is already there, otherwise they'll just go elsewhere. But then there's the silly bit - if you already have the food supply and there are the insect predators in your area, they'll arrive all by themselves anyway. By far the best thing to do is to ensure that there are habitat areas in your garden - then they'll come and they'll stay. I'm not talking about the ridiculous insect houses you can buy in fancy garden centres by the way - just the right plants and a few crevices in the right place.

Mike

[lazyspice]

I had to interfere last summer - the beans in the back garden were literally covered with blackfly and greenfly but the ladybirds had only made it as far as the roses in the front garden! I decided to move them to the bean banquet as they didn't seem to want to move

My beans were clear within days

[Andy Hamilton]

Yep I moved some ladybird larva from some nearby lime trees and they had a field day. I have noticed that due to the "wild spots" left on my allotment there seems to be a lot of ladybirds already here at the moment, even before we have lots of greenfly. So yep Mikes quite right too, try not to have a massively neat garden. The downside of course is that slugs love places to hide too.

[Shirley]

don't talk to me about slugs grrrr fizzz grrrr.

ladybirds though - are fab. Have only seen a few in the garden but the park has a good many - lots of harlequins too They are an invader and kill our native ladybirds - ok they do eat aphids too so that is a small consolation.

http://www.harlequin-survey.org/

[MKG]

Yep I moved some ladybird larva from some nearby lime trees and they had a field day. I have noticed that due to the "wild spots" left on my allotment there seems to be a lot of ladybirds already here at the moment, even before we have lots of greenfly. So yep Mikes quite right too, try not to have a massively neat garden. The downside of course is that slugs love places to hide too.

... which is where the frogs come in.

Mike

[Millymollymandy]

There were very few ladybirds around last year when aphids were at their worst. I think I've seen more this year already. Though of course not near the aphids on my broad beans or flowering kale!

[MKG]

You're gonna hate this - ladybirds love nettles

Mike

[pelmetman]

We have absolutely loads of ladybirds this year, don't know why. We are surrounded by fields and not really many nettles. After the bad winter would have thought insects would have taken a bad hit but we've already had greenflyand several different types of caterpillars. I try to collect as many ladybirds as poss to put into the greenhouse. Sue

[MKG]

Well, they also like clover and dandelions - but I find most ladybirds on the nettles. Picture your ladybird-friendly lawn, please

Mike

[Jessiebean]

right- messy garden- check.
many tasty inescts to eat - check.
Right kind of places for friendly predators to hide? I don't know- what's best? (barring nettles- I don't have any growing naturally and I am loathe to introduce them as the two disaster prone children would no doubt barrel into them all the time)
I would probably rather have the right kinds of plants, natrual hiding places rather than making some out of drink bottle etc but I will do what it takes- I wish to reclaim the garden!

[Pennylane]

I use the excuse for having a messy garden on keeping places for wild life all the time..and bees like messy gardens too so there is another reason. I have more nettles than I can cope with and bind weed so it is a forever battle like king Canute...but the aphids do seem to be under control.

[MKG]

Some good advice for insect homes ...

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/gardening ... _homes.asp

Mike

[Peggy Sue]

Last year I had a devastating plague of aphids, it made even big sturdy brassica curl up. Then came the ladybirds in their droves. Cleared the lot and everything survived.

This year they have arrived in time to keep them well under control, no blackfly at all on my beans this year. They must have rememebred where to come for the feast.

[Millymollymandy]

The ladybirds on my broad beans are obviously on a diet because they are doing nothing to control the hordes of blackfly, neither is the jam working (attracts the ants but aphids still thriving) and the shoots which I haven't pinched out yet are shrivelling up and dying. No time at the moment and so much to do but I'll do some soapy water squidging when I get a chance. They are all so stunted anyway, one is only 6 inches tall and I haven't needed to bother with any string to support them! Ho well if it keeps them off me peas.....