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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters halve their pesticide use with the help of a few thousand flying ladies, we'll keep the weight of 22 picnic tables of toxic chems outta circulation.
COCKTAIL FACT
The "ladybug taint" is the abnormal taste and smell wines acquire when ladybugs accidentally get mixed in during fermentation.
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home › tip library › Pest Control
Are aphids devouring the fruits of your labor?
The Bite
Say hello to our little friend, the ladybug. Before plant-eating insects swoop in on the booty, invite a few polka-dotted carnivores into your yard as an all-natural way of ensuring a pest-free garden party.The Benefits
- Targeted control. Insecticides commonly used to kill aphids tend to also kill insects that are beneficial to gardens.
- Effective. A single ladybug can eat as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime.
- Eye-catching. This is the one bug we'd actually invite to a party.
Personally Speaking
A few ladybugs showed up in Heather's garden recently, so she planted some fennel to make sure they stuck around. She doesn't even scream when they land in her hair.Wanna Try?
Make sure to get the North American species instead of the Asian one, which is invasive. Just ask at your garden center.- Arbico Organics - 4,500 North American adult ladybugs - enough to do the trick for 3,000 sq ft of yard ($33).
- Planet Natural - same North American species, but fewer of them, just in case you don’t want thousands… ($17).
- Lady Bug Attractant - that wonderful aphid smell drives ladybugs wild ($16).
- Heirloom Seeds - plants such as cilantro, dandelions, dill, fennel and yarrow encourage ladybugs to set up camp permanently and defend your garden from pests long-term ($3).
- eHow - a step-by-step guide for successful release.
May 04,2007
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Ladybugs are Lucky
How many of you Biters are superstitious? I definitely am. I have gone out of my way to knock on wood, and if I find a penny I pick it up (unless it's disgusting), and I do think that if a ladybug lands on you that you are being blessed, or will be having a wish granted.
So the thought of releasing 5K into my garden is making me excited. Oh, but wait, I haven't even really started to plant yet. Maybe I will have a ladybug garden, planting just the fennel, cilantro, dill and yarrow (I am not planting dandelions!). So I will up my animal list up from 10 (1 dog, 2 cats, 6 chickens, and 1 horse) to 5,010. FUN!!!
-Jen... off to order some pretty polka dot ladies and plant my ladybug garden...
So the thought of releasing 5K into my garden is making me excited. Oh, but wait, I haven't even really started to plant yet. Maybe I will have a ladybug garden, planting just the fennel, cilantro, dill and yarrow (I am not planting dandelions!). So I will up my animal list up from 10 (1 dog, 2 cats, 6 chickens, and 1 horse) to 5,010. FUN!!!
-Jen... off to order some pretty polka dot ladies and plant my ladybug garden...
Biter Comments...
Oh man...I'm sensing a big impending invasive species discussion coming on.
To me, it seems we've twisted Nature so far out of balance when we pit different species against each other, to control the effects of other invasive species which our system of global commerce has brought to every last acre of the world. Somehow in that, it seems we lose.
You don't need to order ladybugs, Jen! Just come to my house! I have them inside and out! By the thousands! My pretty white crown moulding is covered in pretty little orange-yellow dots that they leave (from the toxin they release). I am constantly cleaning up little lady bug skeletons. Most of them are not the species that I remember thinking were so cute when I was young. These are introduced species from Asia. Some idiot thought this was a good idea. Yep, come to my house and you can have them all!
Dandelions are actually really nutrious. My CSA just had a workshop where we made all kinds of dishes with them, as well as batches of dandelion wine. Yum.
YOU DO NOT NEED LADYBUGS TO EAT APHIDS! Ladybugs are cute and helpful, but an old farmer told me years ago all you have to do is give the roses (or whatever) a good hosing down for a couple of days in a row and aphids are gone; others may come later but just do the same thing. Evidently they are not capable of climbing up again once they are sprayed away. IT HAS WORKED PERFECTLY FOR ME FOR 30+ YEARS OF ORGANIC GARDENING.
I just have to reiterate that in the numbers they're being "ordered", ladybugs are becoming pests themselves. Sure, one or two are cute, but when the walls inside your house look like they're alive from all the ladybugs crawling on them, they've become a problem. And they stink too! It's gotten so bad here (in the southern Appalachians), that our local co-operative extension agent told us the exact day that they start swarming every year. But for those of you who also have problems with swarming ladybugs, that same agent gave us something to think about. If a ladybug can get in your house, the heat is getting out too. You probably need to think about trying to find the cracks where they're getting in and fixing them. I know, easier said than done. Good luck to my fellow ladybug sufferers!
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Linda | May 04, 2007 at 05:29 AM