(Part 2) I Released 1,500 Ladybugs Inside My House - Update

Please follow me on Instagram
/ plant4table
Take $50 off when purchasing iHarvest with Code PLANT4TABLE
iHarvest Purchase Link igworks.com/?ref=sss6gkzefbu
Also $125 - $200 off with Code PLANT4TABLE when purchasing Gardyn
Gardyn Purchase Link
gardyn.pxf.io/c/3301675/147425...
(Part 1) Released 1,500 Ladybugs • (Part 1) I Released 1,...
Hydroponic Systems Comparison: Gardyn vs. iHarvest vs. Aerogarden • Gardyn vs. iHarvest vs...
Grow Cucumbers and Eggplants in iHarvest • iHarvest Cucumbers and...
Gardyn Flower Tower Update • Gardyn Flower Tower Up...
My Indoor Hydroponic Garden • My Indoor Hydroponic G...

[@bhosken]

Shortly after your first video we found aphids on our Gardyn. We ordered 1500 and while shipping the winter storm hit and delayed the poor bugs. We were surprised when they finally arrived most had made it. They do work quite well on the aphids so far. Also we discovered they LOVE bananas as we release in batches so we have to feed the others who are still in our ladybug hotel. Glad it has helped you as well and exciting to may have already started reproducing. Cannot wait to see more. Thank you for such fun and helpful videos.

[@plant4table]

Glad that it works out for you. Why do I have a feeling that you were happy to find adphids in your Gardyn? 😂

[@angelabonkoski6542]

Thank you for the update! I was wondering how it worked out. Could you do a video showing how you grew those beautiful strawberries please?

[@plant4table]

Yes, I will do a video on strawberries

[@GrowYourHomesteadWithAngie]

Thanks for the update. I was wondering :) I did a video on sprays. I love EcoGarden. It worked great! Haven’t had bugs in three weeks. Maybe try that before tossing out your plants. I love your basement. Goals! Keep up the great work

[@RayynStorrm1]

I was wondering about your aphids this morning and how the lady bugs worked. It was amazing to see you post this video hours later!

[@EdwinOlding]

Can’t wait for the next video!

[@CinnamonDelight-xb8pl]

Thanks for part 2.

[@texartisanstudios]

Used your coupon! Thank you so much for the savings!

[@sicplano]

I realize this video is quite old, but for those who just may be tuning in - You might want to research products containing spinosad (bacterially derived and organic approved) if you have aphid infestations. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@plant4table]

I heard about spinosad from a rose growing group. I might try that in my outdoor garden because the roses suffer from aphids every spring. I want to keep my garden as chemical free as possible. Thanks for the comment.

[@tomt637]

Thanks for the tip, be looking that up in a sec.

[@GKAriell]

At 4:35 those are Asian lady beetles if I’m correct NOT ladybugs. They’ve got that “M” shape on the head. They bite and can cause harm to plants. They’re often lumped in with ladybugs that get shipped out…

[@plant4table]

Oh no, really? I want to order some ladybugs for my outdoor garden but now I don't know if it is a good idea or not. Ugh...

[@EveningViolinist-om9hs]

Agreed...those are a type of Asian beetle. Lady bugs are really suffering. I haven't seen one in years.

[@gabrielkawa3477]

I like how honest you are. Mating is a good thing since you would have more ladybugs and they would be hungrier. Not sure why they died so quickly for you

[@plant4table]

I heard that farm raised ladybugs are not as good as the ones in nature due to their diet growing up. Or may be they prefer the outdoor environment.

[@gabrielkawa3477]

@@plant4table I've heard that as well and that they're more likely to have diseases and pests with them

[@lisaevans8403]

In cold weather ladybugs donot need food for up to 9 months but your aphids are the food sourse.also honey water is a fav. Source of energy for them but needs to be a very shallow puddle in a shallow container.

[@tomt637]

Thanks for the video, love releasing bugs into the garden but have always wondered about inside and it's nice to have a good clear example however I will say your missing the point of the bug hotel, it's not for general occupation but for seasonal hibernation so chances are they won't show any interest until they want somewhere to go but I would guess you found them up a wall later in the year haha they do pretty well hibernating in houses.

[@theindoorgardener9689]

Thank you for the update! I hadn't realized that keeping them alive would be so difficult! Hopefully the larva are more hungry and/or keep the aphid population manageable. You could probably save a handful of plants if you took them out of the hydroponics systems and put them in kratky buckets. Then you could spray them more aggressively/keep the plants more separated.

[@plant4table]

I will have to save my strawberry plants. May be I will quaratine them upstairs while santizing the basement. Will see how the ladybugs work out at the end. Submerging the plants in a bucket of soapy water also seems to work more effectively than spraying.

[@theindoorgardener9689]

@@plant4table I hope that it works out for you. I had a slight Aphid problem when your ladybug video just came out. My collection is nowhere near as big as yours. I wound up using scotch tape to manually remove the visible aphids, and then sprayed them off in the bathtub. A few times.

[@TheRealTMar]

Aside from the ladybugs preferring a natural habitat, try stuffing shredded paper and strips of folded paper inside the open part of the bug hotel. Fold the paper strips like a harmonica. Ladybugs like to leave eggs between the folds of the paper.

[@theyweredeadwhenigotthere1391]

👏👌🤝 thank you beautiful!

[@lisaevans8403]

Sometimes they pretend to be dead even releasing blood from the joints of their legs to deter a predator. So if you see them on their back and legs fokded in and you think they are dead pick them up and rub your finger over their legs and see if they grab on. If they are cold start huffing warm air on them it will get them going.

[@MarekMarciniak]

awesome !you are funny too 😆😆😁😁

[@MrJAgb]

An insecthotel is only shelter for some insects in the winter. They go in it when its cold and close the opening

[@plant4table]

I didnt know that. Thanks for the info.

[@smiley2477]

I purchased a tiny 2 inch birdhouse at hobby lobby for $1.99. I’m glad I didn’t spend $20 on a ladybug house. I’m not sure if the will use but it’s only $2 down the drain if they dont

[@JWHealing]

Rather than ordering from amazon you can use that same company and order direct from their website and on their site you have the option of paying for next day shipping. I ordered for my outdoor garden. On their site they were offering buy one get one free up to the 8,000 ladybug size, so I got two bags of 8,000 ladybugs each and next day shipping. (no idea if it was truly 8,000 ladybugs but it was a ton.) The only snag is I didn't know that with outdoor aphid infestations, ants can protect the aphids and if you see ants protecting the aphids you need to get rid of the ants first or they will kill whatever beneficial bugs you purchase that try to eat the aphids. So after the ants I think killed many ladybugs & ladybug larvae & I realized what was happening, I put out a Terro brand ant bait station (away from kids and dogs) and that killed the ant colony. So the ladybug population is building back up now that the ants are gone. I may also get lacewing larvae from a different company that has been very helpful once I verify it's not too late in the year.

[@plant4table]

Very good point about the ants. I see them climbing up and down my roses. Thank you for such a thoughtful comment. I will order some beneficial insects for my outdoor garden next spring.

[@JWHealing]

@@plant4table Excellent. My ladybugs are making a great comeback so I'm hoping lots of them will somehow overwinter and be around in springtime. I'm leaving all the leaves etc in place in case that helps. Once I make sure there are no ants farming aphids next spring I'll order some lacewing larvae to add another dimension to the party. Watching the ladybugs and ladybug larvae everywhere in the garden has been surprisingly fun.

[@HTXFOODIE]

So from what I learned. Lady bugs want to live where they are native to.

[@LumiereLaDiDa]

I’m truly enjoying your lovely videos, thank you! Would love to grow strawberries in the hydroponic system.. was there no way to find seedlings and you had to start from seed? I can’t even imagine how difficult that must’ve been!! I’m guessing you had to avoid seedlings grown in soil... now that you succeeded, could you propagate? (from existing plants?). Any thoughts appreciated!!

[@plant4table]

It is best to start from bare rooted plants. You can order them online. It takes a very long time to grow from seeds. Not difficult at all, just a longgg time. I did so because it was during the winter time and online vendors would not ship it until the spring. I have strawberry seeds on hand and I was like ok, let's just use the seeds. Now would be a great time to order bare root plants. Now I have the plants, I can properly propagate. I will do a video on this once I am successful with propagating.

[@robertthrem3382]

Your funny 😂

[@lisaevans8403]

Honey those are asian beetles, they look like ladybugs but are not. They bite also someone sent you the wrong bug a more plentiful bug a bothersome bug you donot want.

[@HockeyMastered]

And I'm guessing that trying to feed them raisins and give them water is probably not something that works? I mean I still am going to put some water sources there for them but nothing that they could drown in

[@plant4table]

All my ladybugs died. Somehow they flew all over the place and ended up dying. May be the light is too harsh for them, or may be they were farmed raised and therefore not effective when it comes to eating the aphids.

[@HockeyMastered]

How often did you spray the plant foliage? Was that something that you did daily or is that too much for them? I just ordered $4,500 ladybugs and I'm nervous and I'm going to end up killing them all by doing something wrong

[@plant4table]

I sprayed the foliage once a day. They died anyway, so sad. Good luck with yours.

[@ZippyCoheny]

I bought some baby kale plants from Lowe's and ended up with aphid infestation also. I learned my lesson and will be planting everything from seeds. I wonder why the lady bugs died. Did you end up getting the Aphids under control?

[@plant4table]

I did not because it was hard with multiple systems running. So I took everything down and restarted after a month or 2. No more aphids.

[@ZippyCoheny]

@@plant4table Thanks. I ended up taking out all my plants and planting them outside today. Then I let my lady bug go outside on them. Hopefully starting fresh will resolve the problem. Great video, thanks.

[@sma2608]

If they're huddling then they are too cold to hunt!

[@plant4table]

Hmm, odd because my house temperature is always 72

[@koolnerd103]

Do you think your neem oil played a part in lady bug death?

[@plant4table]

Hmm, Im not sure, now that you mentioned it. I sprayed neem oil 7 days before the day I released the ladybugs. But I did some research and people had a hard time keeping them alive.

[@JWHealing]

yes, also sprays with soaps. If they harm some soft bodied insects they could harm all soft bodied insects.

[@MattBlethen]

Any update on this? Did they end up dying out and did aphids come back?

[@plant4table]

The ladybugs were not able to get rid of the aphids. I had multiple systems running with 100+ plants. I took everything down, cleaned, and waited a while to restart. No more aphids. I recommend waiting at least 2 weeks before restarting.

[@MattBlethen]

@@plant4table do you think I would see some success releasing 20-30 on about 10 plants. At least until spring comes back around and I can set everything up outside?

[@plant4table]

@@MattBlethen with just 10 plants, I think it is more effective that you try to soak the plants in Dawn soap water and disinfect the system every 3 days to break the egg hatching cycle. Aphid is a nightmare. This is why I will never put any newly bought plants or soil matter near my hydroponic systems ever again.

[@MattBlethen]

@@plant4table I appreciate the insight. Thanks

[@MyTube4Utoo]

*Yikes.* Tiny horned lady-gators!

[@bubbagump1407]

Ladybugs eat about 50 aphids a day... their larvae eat 8 times as many, or 400 per day so let them mate...

[@EveningViolinist-om9hs]

Those are not the American bread of red ady bugs. Those are Asian lady bugs. The American bread are almost extinct

[@APBinVTA]

You must release them at night or in the dark, or they will disappear forever...

[@plant4table]

That's what I heard. So I tried again on 2nd smaller batch, released them when it was dark, provided them with water... they still bellied-up. I think the ones I purchased are farm raised, hence they are different than the ones in the nature 😞

[@bikinggal1]

hahhahaha. That lady bug house has also been sold as a wild bee house, and it doesn't work for bees either! Research things...there are lots of people trying to take your money

[@plant4table]

Ikr, I returned it :(

[@magnumxlpi]

Why would you dispose of your plants just because you have aphids?😂

[@dano9411]

I've probably killed so many larvae :(

[@plant4table]

:( Now you know