Re: Best place to buy ladybugs

In article <g0r0pi$7l5$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
 "Katey Didd" <spamless@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> I have Sevin dust. We only use chemicals when the bugs are getting out
of 
> hand. We have many acres of woodland behind us so all kinds of critters
come 
> from back there, both good and bad.

I know that feeling. ;-)
That is what keeps happening when I poison out the local rats.
Some of my neighbors have problems with deer.

> 
> >
> > Placing some birdhouse gourd nesting houses for house wrens, keeping
> > some areas (for reptilian and amphibian predators) damp in the yard,
> > rocky areas where they can hide, and jealously guarding  my spiders
does
> > a lot for me.  I'm also getting a healthy population of Anole lizards
> > and fence lizards. :-)
> 
> We're too far north for anoles. We do have fence lizards and skinks, box

> turtles, frogs and toads and many kinds of s****s. I've yet to see any
of 
> them in the veggie garden. Our biggest problems are the squash vine
borers 
> and cabbage worms on the collards. I used that bacteria for them last
summer 
> but it was only partly effective. Most of the leaves were badly damaged 
> before it stared to take effect. The plants were really set back last
summer 
> between the worms, the heat and the drought.

Can you hand-pick the worms? They are generally out mostly at dawn and 
dusk. I know it's a pain but...

One possibility would be to simply plant more than you can eat.


> > I don't have a lot of extra geckos right now like I've had in the
past,
> > or I'd offer to mail you some. <g>  It's getting to be a bit hot now
> > tho' to ****p live lizards.
> >
> > See if you can get  your hands on some toad tadpoles. Raise them up in
> > an outdoor tem****ary pond.  I keep finding the cuties in unexpected
> > places!
> 
> Because of the ponds we're loaded with toads and frogs and newts.

I envy you the newts. :-)

> > I'm still going to have to use BT tho' for brassicas and my passion
> > vines, but that won't kill predatory insects.  It only works on larval
> > forms of pests.
> 
> We use it also. :^)

Wrens are death on bugs. :-)
I think that's the only reason I've been able to garden at all! Little 
dudes are voracious when they are raising a nest of kids.

Plus they are cute!

I'm blessed with mockingbirds too.
-- 
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people 
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein