Do any of you in the Alpharetta/Atlanta area know of a local source for lady bugs?
We've had quite an increase in aphids this year and were wondering if anyone had a local source for lady bugs or other organic solutions for the aphids?
Truthfully, I don't think much of adding ladybugs to an area. If you have lots of aphids, the population of native ladybugs will grow to comparable numbers without buying extra. Wasps and hornets are good aphid controls...as is a strong shot of water.
Walter- I read online that just a tea spoon of dawn or other dish soap in a couple gallons of water can do the trick? Will the dish soap hurt other plants/good insects?
Remember that Dawn is a detergent, not a soap....and these two substances are not the same thing. Both are effective at dissolving oils but detergents are much more aggressive. Dawn is great for cleaning a spaghetti pot but it can also dissolve the cells on a plant leaf.
Soaps are milder....but even soaps can harm plants, because you don't know the fats and oils that were used to make the soap. Some might hurt plants, some might not.
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Commercial insecticidal soaps are manufactured and tested to be safe and effective. Why not use them and not risk plant harm?
Christy M, when aphids became a problem here I bought ladybugs. They obviously didn't think I had enough aphids because they all flew away for a better place.
Truthfully, I don't think much of adding ladybugs to an area. If you have lots of aphids, the population of native ladybugs will grow to comparable numbers without buying extra. Wasps and hornets are good aphid controls...as is a strong shot of water.
Soaps are milder....but even soaps can harm plants, because you don't know the fats and oils that were used to make the soap. Some might hurt plants, some might not. ...»
Commercial insecticidal soaps are manufactured and tested to be safe and effective. Why not use them and not risk plant harm?