new use for ladybugs

Its that time of the year again and everyones house's windows will be crawling with ladybugs, or the 'lady bug lookalikes' which indeed are from the same family of insect.... ANYhooo In case your wondering what this has to do with anything here, the biggest thing that people don't know is that ladybugs eat other insects and never plants, also they do not nest, eggs are stuck to the surface of leaves and is almost impossible to miss.

My buddy for the 3rd year running has moved dozens of these into his indoor grow site and with their primary diet being aphids and small insects his room has never been cleaner, they even kill off alot of the spiders which can be good for insect control but can make messy and nasty webs in your buds.


***Things to watch***
If you choose to do this keep an eye on your leaves, if eggs are layed they will be large and orange and can be brushed off rather lightly. This must be done because the LARVA that will hatch will eat your leaves and then die essentially only causing plant damage. It normally takes 7-10 days for them to hatch so as long as your a loving grower you'll notice them long before there will ever be a problem.

==What should i do with the eggs or larva==
I suggest taking a container or jar and filling it with your dead leaves, grass from outside, or any clippings from any household plants and dropping the eggs in there. This will allow them to feed and grow well away from your babies and since the life span for these things are only a few weeks it'll help you get new bugs after they aren't abundant anymore(out of season)

places sell ladybugs for this very reason. ladybugs are used by some on here already, i dont know about using them asian lady bug things, ive never heard of someone using em before are you sure they dont have a drawback the true ladybugs dont?or maybe its just cause no one has really tried em yet?

They breed faster but depending on how active your room is and what kind of air exchange you've implemented that may not be a bad thing.

I don't have any sign of bugs, other than a few nats so far,but I am still vegging and treating with azatrol. I will be switching to flower soon and have been thinking about the ladybug idea. Would you recommend putting them in there even if you don't have an issue yet?

no, i would not, make sure you solve your gnat problem b4 starting flowering.how long have you had the fungus gnats? if you had spidermites or aphids it would be a different story and i say you should if you really wanted to and were worried you would have problems.

darkdestruction420 said:

no, i would not, make sure you solve your gnat problem b4 starting flowering.how long have you had the fungus gnats? if you had spidermites or aphids it would be a different story and i say you should if you really wanted to and were worried you would have problems.

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I wouldn't say I have a gnat problem. I have found a few on the sticky traps, but when I shake the plants I can't see any on there. I hear you can sprinkle cinnamin on the medium and it will get rid of the nats. I haven't done anything yet , because I haven't seen them buzzn around.

Ive never heard the cinnamon trick but id be afraid that would somehow burn my plant by either messing with the PH or just the roots straight rejecting it.

Keep in mind if you see a couple you probably have alot more either there or coming, a fan in the room generally prevents them from flying out into the open. In that case it is not good because they will stay in close proximity to your plants because they 'break the wind'

The ladybugs wouldn't hurt BUT my friend sometimes will take bright colored throw away bowls, like a bright plastic yellow one and smear it with vasoline, u could use anything bright really, yellow or red colors are the best and put them on the dirt or brim of the pots, the light above will illuminate it to the bugs and they will land on it to see what it is and get stuck and this in no way effects your plants.

Otherwise try to find somebody who knows about spraying your plants, my buddy will only use water and at night on his.

i wouldnt worry to much then, look around in your soil a little bit for little white larvae to be safe though, if you see any i would recommend putting a 2 inch layer of sand on top so they cant reproduce.

darkdestruction420 said:

i wouldnt worry to much then, look around in your soil a little bit for little white larvae to be safe though, if you see any i would recommend putting a 2 inch layer of sand on top so they cant reproduce.

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Ya, I am growing with coco, which has a tendancy to draw gnats. I check the soil every day for larvae. No signs yet. I will keep an eye out.

BeatenByTheWorld said:

Ive never heard the cinnamon trick but id be afraid that would somehow burn my plant by either messing with the PH or just the roots straight rejecting it.

Keep in mind if you see a couple you probably have alot more either there or coming, a fan in the room generally prevents them from flying out into the open. In that case it is not good because they will stay in close proximity to your plants because they 'break the wind'

The ladybugs wouldn't hurt BUT my friend sometimes will take bright colored throw away bowls, like a bright plastic yellow one and smear it with vasoline, u could use anything bright really, yellow or red colors are the best and put them on the dirt or brim of the pots, the light above will illuminate it to the bugs and they will land on it to see what it is and get stuck and this in no way effects your plants.

Otherwise try to find somebody who knows about spraying your plants, my buddy will only use water and at night on his.

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Thanks for the tips. I currently have three yellow sticky traps in there. That is where I have seen a few gnats( I would say about a 10-20 in three weeks total)..dead on the traps. Those fuckers are so sticky ..I actually leaned my head into one yesterday..was a pain in the ass getting the sticky shit out fo my hair.lol