Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
debwhite0215

Lady bugs versus Aphids??

debwhite0215
10 years ago

Ladybugs killing the Aphids??
I new to the gardening myself I have 9 Raised veggie beds and I was out there today and I di norticed Aphids crawling in and out of my soil I need to know about how many Lady bugs I would need to get to get rid of the aphids???Like I said my garden is 100% organic and Im brandy new to all of this and only have been into this for about 4 months nnow at least very close to it LOL,I spray everyday with a mixture I make myself of Vegatable oil and dish soap and put it into a large sprayer bottle and top it all off with water and spray even underneath the leaves of my plants I did see quite abit of those pesty bugs today...Please help??

Comments (11)

  • nc_crn
    10 years ago

    Lady bugs only stick around when they have food and enough of it. If you unleash them on a small garden they may stick around until they're done with the current batch of aphids or fly away upon release without doing much of anything.

    They're best used in enclosed areas (greenhouses) or large field plantings where they can migrate around and set up shop with a lesser chance of leaving your field area.

    Also, don't spray everyday. Spray when it's needed, where it's needed. You might want to omit the oil in the mixture, too...especially during summer...it can both clog plant tissue respiratory mechanisms and burn leaves.

  • Kimmsr
    10 years ago

    What "dish soap" are you using. Some are effective while others are not.
    Aphids are easily controlled with just a sharp spray of water that knocks the wee buggers off the plants.
    How many Lady Beetles you may need is difficult to determine. Keep in mind that the Lady Beetles will not eliminate the Aphids because then they would not have a foo source.
    Perhaps this link will be of some help.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Aphid control

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    I noticed you said you had 'Aphids crawling in and out of my soil'. If they were actually going into the soil then they probably aren't aphids imo. Aphids either live and die on plants and don't go into the ground or, if they are root aphids, they live and die under the ground. Unless you have different aphids from us. Do you have a definite id on the insects?

    Ladybugs will usually arrive of their own accord if there is a food source. I also agree with the advice not to spray unless you need to and to take great care with home made concoctions. Excuse the pun but daily spraying is massive overkill. We often get posters here who have killed or damaged their plants that way.

  • debwhite0215
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ok as far as the spraying Im going to go with spraying weekly instead of daily and the dish soap Im using is an Anti baterial soap and I only using a Tsp everytime I fill up my spray bottle.....Vegatable oil will clog up the pores of the roots of my veggies growing right now??I seen anothermixture of 1 cup of Vegatable oil and the rest just water and I was told to even spray under the leaves of my veggies too is this correct???I know they are Aphids the winged ones and the ones with no wings Im also seeing somekind that looks kinda like ants any ideas what they maybe??

  • Kimmsr
    10 years ago

    The antibacterial "soap" you are using i8s most likely a detergent and not a soap. Using an antibacterial is not a good idea since that allows the bacteria to develop immunities to those antibacterials, they become more resistant to them.
    Purchasing Lady Beetles is not a good idea since most likely the ones you would get would be the Asian Lady Beetles, a foreign import, that would take over the territory and displace any native Lady Beetles there might be.
    As is explained in the link I provided above Aphids are attracted to the lush green growth that often is the result of excess Nitrogen, so a good look at the soil these plants are growing in is warranted.
    Drop the oil, drop the "soap" and just knock the wee buggers off the plants with a sharp spray of water,

  • jean001a
    10 years ago

    As has been said, here and elsewhere:
    - Stop spraying.
    - When something occurs that you may need to treat, ID the critter then use an appropriate management which may not include a spray.
    - Aphids don't go in and out of the soil. Find out who those guys are and if they are a problem.
    - Obtain research-based information for your locale from your county's Extension Service office; use this map
    http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

    Oh yes, stop spraying.

    Here is a link that might be useful: locate your county's Extension Service office

  • digdirt2
    10 years ago

    As I posted on your other thread they are more likely to be fungus gnats because of your overly wet soil from all the rain.

    Lost track now of how many folks have told you to stop spraying on all your posts both here and on the Vegetable Gardening forum. Also to ditch the oil and the soap.

    But you seem determined to keep doing it so would you at least consider reducing the oil to what is a normal level of no more than 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of water and switching to an actual soap?

    Better yet pick up a small bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap (cleaning supplies section of any grocery store) as it contains a proper balance of oil and real soap. Add 2 tablespoons of it to 1 gallon of water. Then spray the bugs NOT the plants.

    All anyone here can do is share with you what is common practice, what works based on years of experience. It is your choice to accept that advice or not.

    Dave

  • henry_kuska
    10 years ago

    At least for roses, the plants themselves drive the aphids away'

    "Author: MILES P W
    Author Address: WAITE AGRIC. RES. INST., UNIV. ADELAIDE, ADELAIDE, S. AUST.
    Title: DYNAMIC ASPECTS OF THE CHEMICAL RELATION BETWEEN THE ROSE APHID MACROSIPHUM-ROSAE AND ROSE BUDS
    Published in: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, volumn 37, pages 129-136, (1985).
    Abstract: "Dynamic aspects of the chemical relation between the rose aphid [Macrosiphum rosae] and rose buds.In warm weather, M. rosae (L.) walks off buds of hybrid tea roses during a critical period coinciding with the opening of the sepals. This behavior could not be related to histologically detectable barriers to feeding, nor to changes in the water content of the tissues or in their composition with respect to total soluble carbohydrate, amino nitrogen or phenolic compounds; major changes in tissue chemistry, effected by spraying the bushes with urea, did not affect the time at which the aphids left the buds. Tissue sap expressed from stems and sepals showed a significant increase in catechin content after, rather than during, the critical period. Once expressed, however, sap from buds at the critical stage showed a sharp in vitro rise in catechin content over a few hours, up to levels approximating those against which the insects discriminated in choice tests. The insects could well be sensitive to a developing capacity of tissue to accumulated catechin, possibly in response to their feeding activity."

    ------------------------------------------------
    Other papers of interest:

    http://link.springer.com/article/10.1631/jzus.B1100087

    Ph.D. Thesis http://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/19578

    -------------------------------------
    Research concerning how much control Lady Bug release had on aphids on roses.

    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964405000721
    --------------------------------------------

    Here is a link that might be useful: link for Miles' abstract above

  • nc_crn
    10 years ago

    That's why roses are never attacked by aphids...wait...they are, all the time.

    A minor helpful level of resistance isn't a cure or reliable prevention.

    This post was edited by nc-crn on Sat, Feb 1, 14 at 15:46

  • little_minnie
    10 years ago

    You can either spray OR use lady bugs, not both. Lady bugs will be killed by spray too. I find lady bugs do not like to eat the woolly aphids that attack my lupines. They only eat the normal aphids on my vegetables. So spray a stream of water for the aphids but stop spraying pesticides and then sure, release lady bugs.

  • henry_kuska
    10 years ago

    The following was stated: "That's why roses are never attacked by aphids...wait...they are, all the time."

    H.Kuska comment. The abstract clearly states that the plant builds up a resistance AFTER attack. ""Dynamic aspects of the chemical relation between the rose aphid [Macrosiphum rosae] and rose buds.In warm weather, M. rosae (L.) walks off buds of hybrid tea roses during a critical period coinciding with the opening of the sepals."

    H.Kuska additional comment. I do not consider "In warm weather, M. rosae (L.) walks off buds of hybrid tea roses during a critical period coinciding with the opening of the sepals." as a "A minor helpful level of resistance isn't a cure........"

    I grew about 1000 roses in a no spray garden and my experience was the same as the published reviewed scientific paper and as the person below reported:

    "â¢Posted by harryshoe z6easternPA (My Page) on Sun, Jun 9, 13 at 11:20

    In eastern PA I see many small worms, aphids, etc. on my roses. I ignore them except for some hand squishing. They disappear eventually with little damage." H.Kuska comment: He then states that he feels that: "Lady bugs, wasps and other predators are the cure." Apparently he was not aware of the plants ability to mount a defense.
    http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/roses/msg0620470817156.html

    Here is a link that might be useful: link for easternPA quote