How to attract ladybugs to your garden
Many folks have fun memories of happening upon a ladybug (or ladybird) and whooping for joy at your good luck. Then they would gently pick it up and hope it crawled all the way to their elbow before taking off. Or did it have to crawl up to the end of your hand?
Lady luck really can’t be trusted, can it.
In any case, for years people have been right in their belief that ladybugs were good creatures. But what many gardeners know is that ladybugs are a great addition to both flower and vegetable gardens. They chow on aphids and whiteflies like a large family at a buffet! That’s right: if you have scale insects in your garden, all you need is ladybugs. Here is how you too can enjoy the benefits of these wonderful insects in your garden.
First off, see if you can attract these polka-dotted pals to your garden. You can do this by having tulips and lillies and other cup-shaped flowers around. The ladybugs love this bloom shape and make their homes in them. If this doesn’t bring in the ladybugs, at least you should be able to enjoy some nice butterflies! Additional plants that can attract ladybugs due to their shape and pollen include dill, fennel, white cosmos, and geraniums.
The next avenue to explore for attracting ladybugs is actually to just go get some. You could call around to nurseries or you could even order some ladybugs online. They are cheap and easy to introduce to the garden. Plan on setting them out there on a cool night, in fact you can refrigerate the bugs for a couple hours to slow them down before setting them out. Keep the plants wet for a few days in order to stop your ladybugs from migrating and to encourage them to make their home in your garden.
The wonderful thing about ladybugs is that they are lovely and do no harm whatsoever in your garden. Each ladybug can eat up to fifty aphids a day! What is more, in a year, you could have up to three generations of ladybugs inhabiting your garden. So get to it and whet your ladybug whistle!