Forum home› Wildlife gardening
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Is it a good idea to buy and release native ladybirds into a garden?

FireFire Posts: 19,096
edited July 2019 in Wildlife gardening
I've never had ladybirds in my garden. I've had my garden seven years and not used sprays.  This kind of company supply native ladybirds. I would like to encourage more into the area. Is buying them a good idea?

Is it a good idea to buy and release native ladybirds into a garden? 8 votes

Yes
25% 2 votes
No
12% 1 vote
It depends
62% 5 votes
Other
0% 0 votes
«1

Posts

  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237
    I'm amazed that there is anywhere with no ladybirds at all! But if you don't them it's probably worth trying to introduce them.

    I bought some native ladybirds one year when I was too impatient waiting for the local ones to appear to eat my aphids but they all disappeared and I'm back to having entirely harlequin ladybirds.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    What's to stop them flying away?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237
    I bought ladybird larvae so at least they couldn't fly away until they grew up!
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I would first ask myself why I had no Ladybirds. It might be because I had killed what they eat and if I stopped killing what they eat the ladybirds would come back. Lots of threads on here asking how to 'deal with' aphids and other insects, they're ladybird food. 


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237
    OP did say that they hadn't sprayed the garden for years. Maybe ladybirds are less prevalent in cities. I don't remember seeing very many in my daughter's garden when she lived in London. If that's the case then they're unlikely to thrive if introduced I'd have thought.

    Also, in a city there are probably lots of neighbours spraying their plants with noxious chemicals so that would cause a problem.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I have loads of aphids, which is why I am thinking about ladybirds.
  • HouseFinchHouseFinch Posts: 328
    Their longevity may be affected by neighboring houses. We found out that our neighbors spray just last week, and it suddenly made sense why we hadn't seen one since we moved in last fall. Such a shame. That said we had planned to introduce larvae next year. Don't know if that would be a lost cause if they are doomed to die. Anyone know how far they roam?
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    Don’t know about other cities but I live in the suburbs of Birmingham and we have loads of ladybirds 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    @WonkyWomble lives in a large town centre and her Mermaid rose has sometimes been almost infested with ladybirds ... hundreds of them 🐞

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    If you don't have any I would worry that the ones you buy will leave or die. I wonder if you are leaving places for them to overwinter and if there is food when they first come out of hibernation. I'm no expert but we have lots of ladybirds and I often see them hiding in my garden in winter.
Sign In or Register to comment.