Buggin’ Out!
Up to this point, Parker (my sweet Pharaoh Hound) has been the biggest pest in my Urban Garden. Who knew she would be such a plant lover? So far, she has eaten: squash, cucumber, jalapeño and basil plants – WHOLE. After some training from SBM, she now knows to stay away from my plants. Luckily, I planned for unforseen plant death and grew a few spares! The only thing I cannot keep her out of is the jasmine, and who can blame her? That stuff is potent!
A few mornings ago, while sipping my morning coffee and doing a little reading (ok, I wasn’t really reading… I was instagramming), I noticed these tiny winged devils. EEK!! They were flying and walking all over my basil and mint.
After a mini freak-out and some quick internet research (love me some Google!), I identified said creatures as: aphids. GROSS. I tried to snap a pic of these suckers for you all to see, but they are just too tiny for my iPhone camera to catch.
I immediately called SEESTER (the real farmer in the family) and asked her what to do. If at all possible, I didn’t want to use pesticides on my sweet plant friends. In order to grow organic, I went to a great deal of trouble buying organic seeds, potting soil, and I even started composting!
My sweet SEESTER told me to calm down and go buy a bucket of ladybugs.
My first reaction
Lady Bugs? Is she serious? I want to get rid of bugs… not add more. Is buying ladybugs a thing? Really?!
My conclusion
SEESTER is getting a degree in this type of thing, and she is pretty much the most competent farmer I know (you can check out her blog here). She knows her stuff, and if you check out her Instagram (@jorieleee), I’m sure you’ll be just as impressed as I am.
Seriously. See these pics? She is EATING food she grew, and DRINKING wine she helped make... IMPRESSIVE!
Turns out, gardeners have been using ladybugs as a secret weapon forever! While doing some tomato research, I also found that ladybugs encourage bees to come, thus helping those yellow flowers to develop into fruit. DOUBLE BONUS.
Fun Ladybug Facts
- 1 adult ladybug can eat up to 50 pests each day
- A ladybug’s favorite food is aphids, but they also eat: scale, mealy bugs, and mites
- A ladybug lifespan is 1 year
- Baby ladybugs look like tiny orange alligators
Operation Ladybug Release
I went to: Lowes, Home Depot, and 2 of our local garden stores – NOBODY had ladybugs. I was pretty bummed.
A few Facebook friends mentioned that I could order the creatures online, and that most of the bugs would arrive alive… but shipping and potentially dead bugs dissuade me from this option.
My ladybug luck changed yesterday. SBM, my parentals and I had lunch and went to the Dallas Farmers Market. Guess what I found?? LADYBUGS!!! I was THRILLED.
I bought the bugs and took them home. The man who sold me the bugs reminded me that ladybugs don’t fly at fly at night. As long as I released them at dusk, they would stay all night and eat up my aphid problem.
He also gave me a tip:
“Water your plants right before you release your ladybugs. They will be mighty thirsty when they get out of their container. First they’ll search for water, and then they’ll get to eating.”
At 9PM I watered my plants and set my ladybugs free! They went to town, and, as promised, none of them flew away.
This morning, I expected to find 1 or 2 bugs still munching, but to my surprise, there are still quite a few still feasting on my aphid population.
Today, I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit sitting very still and watching these magical red creatures work in my garden. It is a mesmerizing sight to see. They are so efficient. I love how they manage to crawl along the dirt, antenna out, hunting their prey. They seem to love my Tarragon, Tomatoes, and Rosemary the best. I’m not sure why.
Have you ever used ladybugs as an organic pesticide? How did it work for you?
Also, I want to see pictures of YOUR gardens!! Please post them to my FB wall or tweet me @madebyjennah
LOVE & LADYBUGS,
Jennah
