#293512
Aug 23rd, 2009 at 03:21 PM
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,805
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OP
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,805 |
Hi everyone, I'm getting a shipment of ladybugs this week for my greenhouse and I want to know if anyone knows of a way to keep the ones I don't want to release right away. In other words I want to let them go a few at a time. What can I do with the rest as they wait? Or must I let them all go at once??
Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,563
Fencer
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Fencer
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,563 |
If you let them go in your greenhouse....and if I"m remembering correctly, you were the one with the aphid prob??? I'd let them all go at once. if there is plenty of aphids for them to eat they won't fly off. they'll stay where the food supply is until it's gone. and in a greenhouse, although doors and sides may be open from time to time, it is somewhat enclosed. maybe most wouldn't be able to get out? I'll say this too. Most years in the fall when we are getting our first blast of cold weather, I get lots of ladybugs in the house. they congregate in our master bathroom for some reason. I don't see anything in there that they can eat, but they'll stay alive for several days and even weeks. how long are you wanting to save back some of them?
Cricket
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker
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Joined: Jul 2005
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Deep Purple
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Deep Purple
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,477 |
there should be directions with them, when they arrive.
i think you can keep them in the fridge (in vegy drawer) to keep them in a partly dormant state and then release some every few days.
Zone 6b
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 37,027 Likes: 9
California Queen
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California Queen
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 37,027 Likes: 9 |
Directions will come with your lady bugs that will tell you to release them all at once, I believe. And soon. They will eat each other if left too long in a container. And then die off. Cricket, I think the kind in your master bedroom are the Asian ones or something. People say they bite. So you may be their dinner there. Here is a bit about the Asian ones. http://www.thegardenhelper.com/cgi-bin/ubb/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/66/2142.htmlThey are probably different than the ones Rosepetal is getting.
~Tina Drama Free Zone. What every gardener loves the most, Begins and ends in rich compost. (Tina)
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,805
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OP
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,805 |
I wish the container had some directions, I've ordered from this company before and no directions came along. I also emailed them and got no reply ... if I had found another supplier from Canada soon enough, guaranteed I would have pulled my order and gotten it else where. The lady bugs I ordered do not bite, anyway they didn't when I got them the first time. Tina if you are suggesting I should let them go all at once, I'll just open the container and let them crawl out as they will. My cherry tomatoes are loaded with aphids and I hate using chemicals because most of them will destroy the flowers or hurt the plants no matter how safe they say they are. I know because I tried them. I lost my peppers because of aphids and chemicals.
Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
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Joined: May 2006
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The Man
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The Man
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,540 |
From what I've read, you're supposed to water the spot where you let the ladybugs go, and you have to let them go at night or else they'll all fly away (I'm not sure if your greenhouse is enclosed or open ended)They should stay as long as you have food. Do expect to find quite a few dead one.
Helping the world one seed at a time When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. Mary Ann LaPensee
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,805
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OP
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,805 |
It's one day now since I've let my ladybugs go. I can find them crawling everywhere, though not as many as I let go. Yes Kennyso I have found quite a few dead ones this morning, but I'm sure the others are having a feast.
On the positive side of things .... I'm not finding any aphids on the newer buds of my tomatoes so far. Let hope it stays this way.
Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,563
Fencer
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Fencer
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,563 |
Cricket
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker
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