ladybugs
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Need information on ladybugs.
Still cold here in Potsdam, but lots of ladybugs are showing up inside the house on my southfacing windows. Hate to kill them. Will they get into clothes and cause damage like moths do?
Can I capture them and somehow house and feed them for a few months until I can relase them in my gardens this Spring? What would be the right type of container for houseing them. What type of food would keep them alive for 2 months?
Thanks in advance for you help.
Kendra
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(post #13157, reply #1 of 18)
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Still cold here in Potsdam. I have lots of ladybugs showing up inside my house on the southfacing windows. This has happened for the last few years. They come in, in the Fall, and show up again in the Spring. Hate to kill them. Will they cause damage to cloths and furniture as moths do? I assume that if I drop them outdoors now they will die, due to low temps and snow cover.
I would like to capture them and keep them alive for the next 2 months until it is warm enough to set them free in my gardens. What type of container would house them properly? What do I feed them besides aphids (which I do not have at this time of year)?
Thanks in advance for the help.
Kendra, zone 3-4
(post #13157, reply #2 of 18)
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These Asian Lady Beetles are not destructive to antthing except other bugs. They've probably been hibernating between your outside walls and the inside walls and with the nice warm sun heating things up in there they're coming out, on the warm side, looking for something to eat which is bugs you don't want. Unfortunately there is not much you can do for them and you shouldn't try to rid you house of them since they will eventually eat the pests in you garden.
(post #13157, reply #3 of 18)
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My son was given a ladybug farm as a gift one fall. It was nothing more than a box with a plastic window on one side. A few days later a lot (100? More?) of ladybugs arrived in a small tube in the mail. We put them in the box with nothing more than a few raisins and a moist paper towel. We would add fresh raisins about once a week or so and rewet the paper towel when it got dry. We were able to keep most of them alive for pretty much the entire winter. Unfortunately they all died before the weather got warm enough to release them. Don't know if this will work with ladybugs that have been bred in the wild, but it sure worked for the captive kind.
(post #13157, reply #4 of 18)
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width="48" height="16" border="0" alt="Chuck">
Son Matthew's entomology class keeps critters like this alive in a holed petri(sp) dish. The hole is stuffed with a cotton ball that can be wetted and they use a couple pieces of crushed dog or cat food inside which keeps the critter going for months. In your case, the trouble is confining them so they can be sure to find the sustenance.
Smallwood Garden
(post #13157, reply #5 of 18)
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I forgot to mention that you should cut the raisins in half and soak them in water for a few seconds (15-30) to soften them up and make them easier to eat. Otherwise the ladybugs won't be able to chew through the relatively tough outer skin.
(post #13157, reply #6 of 18)
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Thanks so much Andy. I'm going to give the box and raisens a try nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Thanks again.
Kendra
(post #13157, reply #7 of 18)
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Thanks Kimm, these bugs are one of the gardners best friends.
(post #13157, reply #8 of 18)
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we are being over run by lady bugs. would like some information on why there are so many around
i live in the upstate ny area.
(post #13157, reply #9 of 18)
Hello..
I'm from next door.. got a question in regards to Lady Bugs..
Is there an open market for them? as in thousands of them?
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
(post #13157, reply #10 of 18)
hi -- i lurk over at Breaktime, so your name is familiar! as to ladybugs, our native ones are excellent garden helpers, but from the numbers you're citing, i'd hazard a guess that you have the asian variety. once cool autumn temps arrive, they tend to congregate indoors in vast numbers. if they do, DON'T smash them -- they exude a nasty smell and a yellow liquid that can stain surfaces. i suggest vacuuming them up and disposing the bag immediately, tightly closed in plastic....
or were you thinking of marketing the ladybugs to gardeners?! =)
Edited 10/18/2006 11:27 am ET by roxanna
(post #13157, reply #11 of 18)
I haven't tried it, but I have heard that if you have a lady bug invasion, you can tape a bay leaf to the window or wall wherever they are. Apparently they don't like the smell of bay at all and will move on. (Bay= the cooking kind, sold in the spice section of the grocery store). Good luck!
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
(post #13157, reply #13 of 18)
just a curiosity question..
why the zone listings in profiles and tag lines..
gotta be directly connected to gardening somehow..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
(post #13157, reply #16 of 18)
zone listing... your zone describes with general accuracy the climate you are gardening in. The answer to many gardening questions depends upon the zone -- for example, if you ask the forum, "can I grow oranges?" without telling us your zone, no one can answer you! I put my zone at the bottom automatically because I usually forget to mention it in my question, and then the first reply I get is always, "well, what zone are you in?" This way I bypass that.
I also mention the @#$*& deer because if I say, "I'm looking for a great plant," and I forget to mention the deer, I get a lot of deer candy answers. This way, people have more information and can give better advice.
So. What zone are YOU in? :)
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
(post #13157, reply #17 of 18)
No clue as to what zone...
Canoshas (it's area not a town) Colorado at about 11,000 feet altitude..
takes a very very long time for anything to grow... lots of lichen and mosses... 3"tall wild flowers that are here for a week..
400 YO pine trees 5' tall...
we use the location data the same way or at BT...
BTW.. could use another 50,000 deer???
a million or two Marmonts instead???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
(post #13157, reply #12 of 18)
yup that's me..
so how do you tell the difference in kinds of lady bugs.. and yes, is there a market..
I tried the search function for this but it seems to work as well here as it does over there..
ROAR!!!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
(post #13157, reply #14 of 18)
I theory, one can tell them apart by color: red ladybugs/ ladybird beetles are native, yellow are Asian, as are orange. In reality, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether a particular bug is orange or red, depending on Nature's variability.
Chicagoland Zone5
"Well I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused." D. McManus
Chicagoland Zone5
"Well I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused." D. McManus
(post #13157, reply #15 of 18)
really deep orange with black markings..
sometimes ya see a black one with orange markings...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
(post #13157, reply #18 of 18)
I was inundated with ladybugs a couple summers ago. I mean they were EVERYWHEREmincluding the bathtub. I finally quit rescuing them from the pond and the dog's pool. Nobody else in town seemed to have them as bad as I did. They covered the outdoor furniture, literally by the thousands. They can bite too!!! I guess they had eaten everything ladybugs normally eat. Then one day after about a month, they were just gone. I've never seen anything like it before or since. Nature is amazing. Now I'm back to rescuing them if I see them in the water... I'm a big softie!!
Gosh, I sure wish the wind would blow...
Gosh, I sure wish the wind would blow...