Can I 'borrow' a ladybird to get rid of aphids on my house plants?

[PlumpkinPete]

I live in a flat and I'm growing sunflowers in a window box. They have aphids

Can I go to the park, collect a ladybird and put it in the window box for a while to get rid of them? Is that mean to the ladybird?? Will it work??? I'll put it back in the park afterwards (if it doesn't just fly off of its own accord!)

I don't think that would work tbh . You can buy nemodes ( poss not spelt correctly ! ) They will do the job .

I'd try it! It's nematodes btw.

Instructions on how to use ladybirds (that you've bought in a bottle), just in case this helps.

ladybirdplantcare.co.uk/collections/aphid-controls/products/4

Nematodes won't work, as they live in the soil and aphids don't live or breed on the ground.

I don't see why you shouldn't borrow a ladybird or two, OP. You'll be giving them a nice juicy meal!

Gosh! Those lady birds are expensive! (As they should be.)

Try making a very diluted washing up liquid and water mix and spraying on the plant or use cotton wool buds dipped in the mixture to scoop/squash them. (You can also just try squashing them everytime) If you use too much washing up liquid it can ‘burn’ the leaves but it can be effective at getting rid of the damn things

Well I never knew you could buy them! And the price!

Spray with soapy water (just use fairy liquid) - that should work.

Or try flour to constipate them (apparently....never tried it myself though) and you might prefer to use any flour you have in your own cooking www.thompson-morgan.com/pests/aphids

Hello

There's lots of creatures that like to feed on Aphids, Ladybirds are quite expensive but there's other cheaper options - ladybirdplantcare.co.uk/collections/aphid-controls

Thanks for the mention @PerkingFaintly xx

Yes, exactly what PurpleAloeVera said about soapy water. You can buy a spray containing the same fatty acids it if you don't want to risk home made.

But if they're in small numbers I squish them by hand.

Be warned, whichever method you try, aphids try to protect themselves by dropping to the ground when they feel the plant being twitched. So for max effectiveness you'll need to put paper round the plant or some other way of making sure you can see the fallen ones.

Ooh, hello Ladybirds18!

Are you a real, live ladybird-breeder, then? That's not a trade that gets mentioned much on the "what job do you do?" threads!

You could try wearing a bright yellow top and I guarantee they will come flocking to you. It happened to me the other morning with greenfly!

Then remove the top and shake it out the window or drown the little beggars in soapy water

@PerkingFaintly

Ooh, hello Ladybirds18!

Are you a real, live ladybird-breeder, then? That's not a trade that gets mentioned much on the "what job do you do?" threads!

I guess you'd call me a Ladybird Trader! I mostly tell people "I sell good bugs to gardeners'! Their faces :) Looking forward to when my twins get asked what their parents do...!!

They will be absolutely the coolest kids in class! Everyone will want "one of your mum/dad's ladybirds".

Ooo, thanks all. I didn't know if I was being ridiculous!

I live that there's a ladybird breeder on MN, how did you get into it? Did you set up the business from scratch yourself? I find this fascinating!

I'm going too try and collect a ladybird from the park but if not I'll go for fairy liquid. I don't think it's worth ordering a load for three little sunflowers!
I'll update you later...

@PlumpkinPete I bought the business from a friend, was a massive career change to fit around suddenly having 2 kids!

Have a look online for soft soap recipes to make sure you get the dilution right and good luck!!

Well you can hire ladybirds books from the library . . . . .

Update! I found a ladybird larvae in the park and thought that would do as the internet tells me they're voracious little buggers. I got it home and it promptly pupated and didn't eat a single aphid

It's clearly the season for it as the next few days ago I could find were pupas. Today I found an actual adult one that seems quite hungry and it got stuck straight in and started on the aphids.

Meanwhile the pupa is wiggling and we're hopeful it will be helping out soon. We'll have to keep checking on them to make sure they're not through all the aphids and started eating each other. DP says he feels like he had responsibility for new pets

@Ladybirds18 I think I now have more questions about how your friend got into it. I have a fond idea that someone had a load of ladybirds in their garden and one day thought, "I could do something with these..."

Now that's a quality update!

Congratulations on your new insect family, Plumpkin.