Thank you for your great tip on keeping ladybugs from flying away. I had never heard of spraying them with half 7-Up, half water. The sweetness might attract ants, but nonetheless it’s worth a try. My own system (See the Quick Tip on page 160 of my book) is to chill them in the refrigerator to lower their metabolism and then release them at dusk into a moist garden, placing them on low branches of plants. (They walk up, laying eggs en route.) I always figure they have been pretty bored in the container with only one pastime, thus emerge all ready to lay eggs. My results have been excellent. I always have ladybugs in my garden, but I do also grow a swathe of pollen-bearing wildflowers which gives them plenty of pollen to eat year round to tide them over when pests aren’t plentiful. I also have a fountain that runs daily on a timer and gives birds and other beneficials all the water they need. When I am out of town friends drop by my garden and keep the fountain filled.

Regarding decollate snails, it takes a year or more for them to get going since they cannot eat the large, full-grown Helix snails. You need to be catching and squashing those when you see them so they can’t continue laying eggs. Decollate snails only devour the babies. I have not released decollate snails myself because I grow so many plants from seeds (decollate snails eat seedlings), but I may change my mind and try them out. Friends of mine who own a citrus grove have had great success. They release them under boards with a small strip of wood (1/4-inch square) nailed under each end. This gives them a hiding place until they get going. Another way is to toss handfuls into thick shrubbery and undergrowth. Unfortunately, folks who have no snails usually have rats, but raccoons also eat them. Rats also eat decollate snails but since they are so small many can safely hide away. (Releasing decollate snails is illegal in some communities.)

Pat

1. Ladybugs – Their tendency to fly away is maddening. I learned a technique for encouraging them to stick (literally) around from my sister in law in Bellingham Wa. Pre load a spray bottle with a solution on half 7 up and half water. Spoon the ladies onto the tree and lightly spray them with the solution. The sticky sugar solution temporarily glues their wings down. In my case they were still gone in 72 hours but they probably laid some eggs while they lived in the garden – will report back if I have another generation.

2. Decolate snails – hard to tell if they are working. I may release another batch tonight since rain is expected. If I put out small containers of beer, will the deccolates also jump in, get drunk and perish?

Best regards, Dave

Thank you so much for your vivid descriptions of releasing lacewings in your garden and also for reporting back on the effects you saw of earthworm castings on ants. I applaud you for watching these miracles of nature taking place. Thank you for taking the time to report back with good results. It is a great satisfaction when we can see organic controls work and know we don’t have to resort to chemicals to control pests.

When I released lacewing larvae in my garden I first spread earthworm castings on the ground under the climbing plant where I released the larvae. The earthworm castings stopped the parade of ants that had previously been climbing up the stems of the plants. I then tied the box containing the lacewing larvae onto the plant. The eggs had not hatched but a day or two later I saw the little creatures walk safely out of the box onto the stems and foliage of the plant. They were shaped like little alligators. I used a magnifying glass but even without it I could see them. This was years ago but I still see the adult lacewings in my garden from time to time, so I know the larvae are here too.

Yes, I will be speaking this year near Palos Verdes. I will be speaking in Long Beach at the Rancho Los Alamitos on September 18, 2010 and on September 25, 2010 in Huntington Beach. Please see the schedule of events elsewhere on this website for details. I will be speaking at Rogers Gardens in Corona Del Mar on May 2 at 9:00 am.

All the best,
Pat

1. Lacewings from Gardens Alive arrived in a tiny container – like the one that contains salsa with your take out taco’s. Hard to believe there’s 10,000 lacewing larvae in there. They are cannibalistic so they are packed in wheat husks to provide some separation. I was wondering how to get them in the trees. Directions said use a dixie cup stapled to the tree. But, I remembered your comment about nasturciums (high pollen blooms) providing nutrition to beneficial predatory insects. I used the nasturcium blooms as cups and nested the blooms in the citrus trees.

2. the worm castings are effective directly on aphids. I found aphids feasting on a rose bud and sprinkled worm castings directly on them. Within an hour their bodies turned from green to brown and the next day they were gone. In this same rose bush I saw the ants trying to get at the lacewing larvae as you described in your book. Ants are on the retreat with all the worm casting material spread around.

Thanks again for all your great work!

Do you have any speaking engagements in the Palos Verdes area?

If you can control the ants, your lacewings will settle down to stay in your garden. They won’t fly away. Put the earthworm castings on the ground to kill the ants and use a handful of corn meal on top of an ant hill if you find an ants nest or ant hill. (For some reason unknown, a handful of cornmeal on top of an ants nest kills all the ants. They will be gone the next day and most time the corn meal disappears also. This is corn meal not corn starch. Some folks want to know do I mean coarse or fine corn meal? Makes no difference. Both work equally well but neither will work on an ant run, the ants will just go around. Only works when you have a swarm coming out of the ground or if you uncover a nest while working in the garden.)

As far as kelp from the beach goes, yes rinse it off, chop it up and bury it in the garden. It rots quickly. But getting it and doing all this is really hard work. I know because I’ve done it and also it wastes water. It’s better to purchase liquid and powdered kelp products and products containing kelp. Apply these according to package directions. These work well and give results sooner since they are stronger.

No point in purchasing earthworm larvae from Gardens Alive. Better, if you want to purchase an earthworm composting set and start with composting earthworms you can get here locally.

If you build up an organic soil earthworms will just naturally arrive.