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Vegetable Gardening

aphids galore, first sighting of ladybugs and oil-soap spray?

11 years ago

Hi, I have gotten aphids galore (along with the ants that love them) on my cucumber and spaghetti squash plants, more on the cucumber ones.

Today I noticed two ladybugs and possibly a young ladybug.

Because they were so outnumbered I sprayed most of the aphids with an oil murphy soap dilution... but I wonder if that was the wrong thing to do? I am going to go rinse the leaves of it now.

Will the oil soap harm the ladybugs? Should I hold off spraying a few days and hope more ladybugs come? I also just looked up ladybug egg images and don't think there were any...

I will post pictures now:

Ladybug 1
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Ladybug 2
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Is this a baby ladybug?
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I think this is a baby dragonfly? It wouldn't leave the cucumber plant. :). I hope it is a good insect for plants though... Will Google it
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This post was edited by ameera on Fri, Feb 1, 13 at 9:31

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Comments (6)

ticodxb
Original Author
11 years ago
oops sorry I just noticed the new edit post feature! I fixed the photo links in my original post... but here is a lil' special one :P I went back up to spray the leaves with water and came upon this lil' scene... the two adult ladybugs found each other!

I hope she lays eggs on my plants!

This post was edited by ameera on Fri, Feb 1, 13 at 9:36
jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
11 years ago
If you have ants too, they are "Farming" the aphids. The ants protect the aphids and put them where they will produce food for the ants. Get rid of the ants and then take care of the aphids.

Jay
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Ahhh! Aphids galore!
Q
Comments (21)
If it kills bad bugs, it generally kills good bugs too. Using careful timing of the application of any pesticide, synthetic or natural, to avoid dosing good insects is always a good idea. Like don't spray when bees are visiting the flowers, but wait until dusk. Also for ladybugs, what you want are the larva, not the adults. The larva eat more aphids in a day than the adults, plus they don't have wings so they stick around for a while. The adults may move off because they have a sense about whether the aphid population is enough to sustain them all or not. Beneficial insects don't tend to work overnight like chemicals do, but they can work.
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Question about spraying for aphids with soapy water
Q
Comments (12)
Thanks everyone! Now I'm wondering exactly what I used last year. Probably any old thing in my cabinet. Oh well, I'm still here so I clearly didn't poision myself. STacey ******************************** Not true. This is why people die from cancer years later. If the soap solution is too strong it can damage or kill the plant. therefore it might be a good idea to first test your solution on a branch or two for awhile before spraying all your plants. Some plants are much more sensitive then other plants. You are suppose to use dish soap and not detergent. good suitable dish soap is not easy to find. My garden has lady bugs and no aphids to be found. If I find aphids I will note the place and then upon finding a ladybug will move it to the aphids.
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How often should I use my soap/garlic spray?
Q
Comments (6)
I don't think you understand how a soap-and-oil spray works. It only kills the insects that have actually been coated with it. If you don't spray it on, say, a ladybug, that bug will not be harmed. I don't know how much a deterrent it is once it's on the plant if it's just plain soap and oil with no garlic (see below.) It's true that while I'm spraying for spider mites, I can get some lacewings, but quite frankly, if the lacewings had been doing their jobs, I wouldn't have spider mites! The garlic is supposed to repel spider mites and aphids. I don't know if it does, but it definitely doesn't repel ladybugs, mantises and bees. It definitely DOES repel mosquitoes. There is an organic anti-mosquito spray on the market made only from super-concentrated garlic that is very effective for mosquitoes but has been proven to be harmless to all beneficial bugs, bees and birds.
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spraying for aphids
Q
Comments (16)
Thanx for all the replies The plants are preety small yet so I did notice a-lot of damage on Baseys the aphids got about half the foliage eaten. Ill go with the soapy water mixture also just curious why would merit bring spider mites? If so any solution for mites I only used Avid with stirrup M for an attractant on the teas. Also I noticed some Black Spot on the Basey as well would neem oil be ok I used Compass and Banner Max on the teas all of which I still have on hand. Also how much growth should I expect to see out of these roses this growing season? I was told not to fertilize Darlows or it will take over Chicago. I spaced the darlows 10 feet apart the others about 7 feet hope I gave them enough room.
...See More
glib
11 years ago
In my case, usually the ladybugs completely exterminate the aphids. No action needed from me. Aphids can make it here only after October 31, after the ladybugs have started hibernation.
jean001a
11 years ago
In your first post, the first two images show lady beetles.
The 3rd image shows a beneficial fly -- called a flower fly, or syrphid fly, its youngsters destroy aphids.

Looks like your garden is thriving.
ticodxb
Original Author
11 years ago
jrslick, I would feel guilty killing the ants... will if I have to but I will wait it out and see if I can find another way... I am Muslim and we aren't supposed to kill ants. We can if they become a nuisance though... I will try to spend time watching the ladybugs and see if the ants are attacking them.....

glib, I hope that female ladybug lays her eggs on my plants! I juts looked up the lifecycle of ladybugs and I had no idea they have a larvae, then pupa stage before emerging as adult ladybugs... I wonder what that bug is in my third photo...

I wonder if they hibernate here? Maybe during the worst of the summer temperatures?

jean001a, thank you, though for a "garden" it really is just veggie plants in containers up on our concrete roof. I never knew about the syrphid/flower fly before! It makes me excited to know I at least have some beneficial bugs starting to visit up on my roof garden :)

I am going to leave my plants alone for a few days and hope more beneficial bugs come and can eat up the aphids.
little_minnie
11 years ago
I release lady bugs every year so I have them when I need them. So I have found it best to spray a hard spray of water on the aphids when you find a bunch and then wait and let the lady bugs come. It seems like they only reproduce when aphids are around. In 3 days I have seen lady bug larva everywhere!
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