Anybody buy good guy bugs?

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by Mantis

Thats why I married a human

That's true for spiders and praying mantis. The female consumes the boy friend's head after consummation.

In the case of Homo Erectus, the female only sucks the male’s brain out, then smokes a cigarette.
:wink:
dcarch

[Mantis]

Yes, but it is a slightly better deal

[dcarch]

Fatal Attraction and fatal distraction,
Foreplay and Foul play,

The line is sometimes thin indeed.

dcarch 8)

[miniedmo]

Username5 was right on key when he talked about the birds though. I was on the deck this morning admiring the garden when several robins flew in and sat on my tomato cages. I must admit I got a little nervous when I seen them go inside of my tomato plant cages, in fear they would eat my tomatos, but a few minutes later they where all on the ground eating horne worms. That was really cool to watch.

[matereater]

Benificial bugs are great, but keep in mind, they'll only stick around as long as they have a food source, so if you don't have a bug problem its basically useless to spend the money on buying benificials.

[Tomstrees]

This year - I have the most LadyBugs I've
ever seen - they are all over my garden -
and the rest of the yard is full of them ~
they also stop for a drink at the pool -
some don't make it - but the others I
rescue ...
I place them gently on a mater leaf -
and to my suprise they stick around ~
0 aphids this year ...
Now if Blight was that easy to combat !!!

~ Tom

[Fert1]

I've tried ordering beneficial insects and insect eggs for several years now with mixed results. When I get praying mantis eggs, I will almost always see a mantis or two that remain in my garden the whole summer. I don't see them every day, but often enough to know they are around. Saw one about an inch long yesterday. So at least some of them stay around.

Ladybugs, I haven't had much luck with. Even the Stay-home kind seem to leave. I've also ordered lacewings and trichogamma. I never see the lacewings, but I hear that they are only active at night, and not to expect to see them during the day. So I don't know if they stay or not.

This year I've had the best luck of all. I placed an order from Gardens Alive for their Attack Squad bugs. http://www.gardensalive.com/product....cd2=1153234397 They periodically sends out eggs, every few weeks. Putting out eggs in several rounds like that instead of just once has worked much better. This year I've hardly seen an aphid at all, and the whitefly population has been greatly dimished.

For the past few years I've tried everything under the sun to rid myself of the whiteflies. This year, I've used no pesticides on them at all, and there are less of them than in the past. So I think the beneficial insects are definitely helping. I just wish I could get rid of the things completely, but it doesn't seem to be possible. The beneficial insects have done more than pesticides ever did though.

I've seen a lot of damselflies in my garden this year, bunches, every single day. The yard has been lousy with them. I suspect they are doing their share of the work too. I didn't order those, they just showed up naturally. Anything I can plant to encourage them to stick around? I love to watch them fly around too. I've always loved Dragonflies and Damselfies.

[matermama]

wow that sounds cool Mscowpea
sue

[MawkHawk]

I've found that if I don't use pesticides in my garden that the good bugs (usually) take care of the bad bugs for me.

Now that I've gotten a greenhouse tho is a different story. The place is full of aphids and I couldn't get rid of them no matter what I used. So I did just get some lady bugs and released them in there. Many of them quickly died but the survivors are eating the aphids, it appears. Will see how it goes.

Can't remember the name of the place tho. Something lite "March Good Bugs" or something...something with the word "March" in it. Cost me like $10 shipped.

[evan1]

I buy Praying Mantis eggs every year. At least two stick around,(big garden) and the kids love watching them.

[defineaproblem]

Here is a list of a few insects I try to keep around by having pots of certain plants I can move next to my containers.

Assassin bugs
Hover flies (syrphid flies)
Insidious flower bugs
Lacewings
Ladybird beetles
Lynx spiders
Paper wasps - careful with this one I keep a few nests going in selected areas.
Praying mantises
Predatory mites
predatory nematodes - add to soil
Snakeflies
Tachinid flies
Trichogramma wasps

I find that I have to have around 30% of my containers in pollen, nector, or plants that provide insects for feeding to get enough of these guys to make any difference.
Always nice to see a horn worm with a ton of eggs on his back

[Marcus1]

I put ladybugs out every season. I have wild plums and a cherry tree that get aphids early in the season so I release them right next to the trees. That way they have a feed source and they go right to work and in no time larvae are all over the trees and the aphids are done in. By the time my vegs are big enough to attract aphids I already have a good population of ladybugs to patrol the gardens. They also eat psylids which have been getting to be an even worse problem than aphids here in CO. At least for me the ladybugs are a good investment, I love seeing them at work since they don't need to be paid and and don't complain.

[mdvpc]

Ladybugs dont stay put for me, except in the greenhouse. I buy greenlacewings once or twice during the spring and that takes care of the aphids for me.

[Dak]

Originally Posted by defineaproblem

Here is a list of a few insects I try to keep around by having pots of certain plants I can move next to my containers.

Assassin bugs
Hover flies (syrphid flies)
Insidious flower bugs
Lacewings
Ladybird beetles
Lynx spiders
Paper wasps - careful with this one I keep a few nests going in selected areas.
Praying mantises
Predatory mites
predatory nematodes - add to soil
Snakeflies
Tachinid flies
Trichogramma wasps

I find that I have to have around 30% of my containers in pollen, nector, or plants that provide insects for feeding to get enough of these guys to make any difference.
Always nice to see a horn worm with a ton of eggs on his back

Can you point me to a list of host plants for beneficials?

[WVTomatoMan]

Originally Posted by bully

I have heard of lacewigs too, and that they don't fly away.

Bully!

That's because lacewings can't fly away. Lacewings are some of the worst flying insects on the face of the planet. Sometimes when I go out in the garden a lacewing will fly into me and land on me. I assure you that I don't even resemble a plant.

Back to your original question...I'm very lucky. I don't have to buy good guy bugs because I have most of what you buy naturally. Even though I don't buy them I think they're a good thing.

Randy