Quote Originally Posted by DannyGreenEyes
They do fly into the light a lot. But if you keep the temp between 70 & 80 they don't do it too badly. One or two a day, and 1,500 only cost about $8.

If you don't have a bug problem, they're a great prevention, I use them myself. Even if you do get bugs after you get the Lady Bugs, the pests wont make a nest when predators are present. Plus the lady bugs will keep them on the edge of extinction for you so it's easier to wipe them out. (lady bugs wont kill off their food supply all together)

They do like to hide behind mylar or in corners though, so you'll want to start with about 500 per plant & try to find a way to keep them on the plants. Spraying your folliage at lights out works pretty good. But I'm still looking for a better way to keep them on the plants myself, I'm getting tired of picking & flicking them back onto the plants. lol

You can order food for them here. Pest Control Insects
Not sure how good the food is though. I just feed mine some raisins every few weeks (cut them in half and put them in thier water bowl - Water bowl is a bowl with cottom balls that I keep wet)

If you don't want them to fly into your light, just spray them with some sweet water when the light go out (a little molasses mixed in water). That will keep them from flying for a day or two so if you spray them every day, they wont be able to fly.

The best prevention though is getting no-thrip screens on all your intakes & exhausts. They're not expensive, just do a search on the net for no-thrip screens. There are a lot of companies that sell them to green houses, you just have to find one that sells in smaller qtys. I use them too, you can never be too carefull. There's a lot of mites in this state.

Hope that helps
Great info!

Yeah, it seems like a lot of people get them! Must be the arid climate...

So, do you have a problem with ladybugs getting around the rest of your house? My room isn't entirely sealed and they could crawl around boards or out cracks! Can't you put some in the fridge to put them in suspended animation and bring them back when you need them.
lampost Reviewed by lampost on . Predator mites/Ladybugs available locally? Can you get predator mites or ladybugs anywhere locally? If not, do you know of any hydro shops or garden shops that will order them for you? I wouldn't mind keeping some of these around just to ensure there won't ever be a problem... Rating: 5