Is there any way to attract and catch wild lady birds? I want to put them on the plants to keep my aphid problem from getting too bad in my hot house. There must be a bush or something that will attact them.
I have no idea, fish. Our ladybugs just sort of show up. If I find one on the lawn I carry it to the nearest infected bush. Sometimes it will feed, sometimes not.
Take a few minutes to Google if you can spare the time. There are sites on the web that actually sell Ladybirds. It might be easier to order some than to try catching them.
That's what it looks like right now eileen, not much I can do this time of year to attract them. None of my flowers will bloom that attract them for another 2 months. I know my local garden store gets them so I might just have to buy them bexcause I don't ever remember seeing a lot of them anyway.
Ladybugs are not attracted by flowers, they know where the aphids are and show up. If your neighbors are in the habit of spraying chemicals on their lawns and gardens, there may not be many around. I read on a website recently that many gardeners don't know they have an aphid problem until they are swarmed by ladybugs.
Hmm, web sites say that daffodils, tulips, dill, and toher flowers will attract them but who knows. It soulds more like they flowers keep them there instead of attracting them. If my Bee balm is any indicator the aphids it attracts will do all the work getting the little ladies to my garden. http://gardeningzone.com/product_info-Ladybug-Lure.html I wonder if these will work?
Learn something new every day. I have never seen any articles about them being attracted by specific flowers or flowers of any kind. I will have to dig into more info on that and see what needs to be in my garden......besides the aphids on the roses
Toni, that is me. I didn't know what aphids looked like until last year my honeysuckle bush was covered with ladybugs... Very interesting, it's good to learn a new thing every day.
