The problem with buying insects is they don't come with leashes. Plan NOW to be sure you have appropriate cover next year and winter harbor for them.

Yes, the praying mantis may eat your ladybugs. That's just what they do. The goal is to establish stable populations of beneficial insects. Then you won't be buying them every year.

Remember, if you buy them and you use pesticides, you'll kill them, too. So I wouldn't buy them unless you are planning to go semi-organic.

thanks alabamanicole, how do you create winter harbor... what exactly should i do, buy them now and put them in the garden.... i am completely new to this.

the other down side is if you garden doesn't have alot of pests they will go down in numbers pretty quickly because there is no food, I would stay away from pray mantids, they are more neutral than beneficial because they eat anything and everything, Ive seen them devour bumble bees and honey bees, most popular are lace wings and lady beatles, but you should identify what pest you are trying to prevent then buy accordingly. Remember insects are plant specific, so keep in mind what you are growing.
check out this link

Here is a link that might be useful: green pest control

That's important, to create their ideal environment, to keep as many as possible within your garden. I think that water, food (bugs) and some evergreens strategically planted should work. I've seen populations of ladybeetles in some pine branches remain in the winter. Also a windbreak of 'lonicera nitida' we've got, provides shelter for lots of them during the winter months. In the sunny spring days you start seeing they move on to the outer leaves and stay there for hours enjoying the soft sunshine.

Carol

Attracting beneficials is easy, if you don't use chemicals and plant the things that are attractive to them.

Allow your celery, dill, lettuces to go to seed - not only to acquire more plants but to attract the type of insects that also help in the overall health of your garden.

One of the best informative books on this subject is "Common-Sense Pest Control" perhaps you can find it in your library. It fairly well covers most of the issues regarding the how-to's and wherefores of how to deal with many beneficials and insect problems.

Because I have an organic garden, I was pleasantly surprised to see many small lizards that took up residence this year. It is amazing to me how few ants we have this year. Either these little lizard creatures "fixed" the problem early, or someone (?) snuck into my yard with a chemical spray gun - (heaven forbid!). But for whatever reason, we aren't seeing too many ants, pill bugs, earwigs, cabbage worms, etc.

I also made a concerted effort to rid the compost pile of all of the white grubs - fed em to my hens - now I hardly see any, so I scooped up the pillbugs - when the pile was almost done - and started feeding those. Really don't know what good all of it does, but - as I said above - about lot less bugs this year. Truly!

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

If you have plenty of money to spend, then by all means, go for it. But as mentioned above, once they run out of food, they'll migrate away from your garden. Don't expect them to live on your property permanently. It's better to plant native plants, perennials, annuals, etc to attract a variety of beneficial insects to your garden. Create a diverse ecosystem in your yard and it will cut down on huge populations of any one pest.

...less than i pay for pesticide and far better for the environment (and my veggies).

Obviously no pesticides is the best rout if you're concerned about the environment. Pesticides also kill the good guys (the beneficial insects) that eat the bad guys (the pests).

Pest management is complex, if you wish to learn, a good place to start is here:

Integrated Pest Management
This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist.

Education:
B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis
Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley

Appointment:
100% Cooperative Extension

Research Interests:
Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information.

Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture:

* IPM references and resources
* Preventing pest problems
* Natural common enemies
* Making less toxic pesticide choices
* Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects.

You can watch the programs now online:

Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free.

Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes

Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes

You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on:
Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons

I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals.

;)