Howdy..ladybugs stink? What do they smell like? Considering we had large numbers, nobody mentioned an odor, and we sure didn't smell anything unusual. I heard that ladybugs bite..It was mentioned on the news, I think, two years ago. Someone said, those that bite are brown/red w/spots which happen to be the most common in Il.. As children, we'd catch ladybugs..not to harm, a friendly game, same as catching lightening bugs.. They'd land on us, hair, arms, even hands..no one got bit..We'd recite, ladybug, ladybug, fly away home..etc Mike, you've got it..Between horror/suspense/mystery 'books' and 'movies,' lady bugs are about as scary as a loaf of bread..lol. Oh yeah, when dogs bark at 2am, books/movies or not, someone is lurking around the house..The dogs bark when they see/hear someone, some 'THING'!!! It's dark here. If a prowler or 'whatever' is stalking the area, dogs detect sound sooner than people. Besides, I believe dogs, most animals, sense danger and/or other things most people cannot..only sensitive people have The 6th Sense... Mike, since lady bugs have an odor, I guess you're not planning on adding any to your home..lol.. I've talked to people who buy Praying Mantis, lol, but who'd want 2" bugs scooting around their house? lol..Since I've never handled mantis, other than the roto-tilar, I don't know if they'd be too scary to hold. Besides, my Shih tzu would chase them around the house..lol. A local (indoor) nursery sells insect eggs, but I think they're meant for a green house or perhaps outdoors???? Toni

In researching the "green" product above, I noticed that you can get orange oil through Amazon. There is a review there that says it works as a soil drench for fire ants. I wouldn't risk rose roots but maybe this will be helpful in other applications. I have used diatoms successfully for many problems. Once on a swarming nest of fire ants. (You have not experienced fire ants until the flying devils have landed on you neck and crawled down your shirt to your... um... shall we say.... lady parts.) The sprinkled powder knocked them down and killed them. The diatom shell razors get under the ant shell and do the deed. And yes, rain or watering will render it useless in my experience. Veronica

For all of you who emailed me requesting to see this foto, here it is. You have to take my word for it that this little guy has an orange bill because my camera is not that great. Here is a link that might be useful: Foto of Rare Orange-Billed Andean Mountain Hummingbird

Oh my goodness aruzinsky, apparently I've offended you - you're so upset you published your objections twice. Seriously, though, "people like me?" I'm not presuming to "speak" for anyone - simply using the word we in a general sense, like "we take care of plants," or "we work hard;" like a chemist might say of him/her self and others in the same profession, "we do experiments to learn about the effects of chemical substances." In that sense, "we" aren't likely to talk about eradicating insects, because eradicating is defined as "to get rid of completely," and "we" know that is impossible, and control is the best "we" can do. As in the article you site, where the researchers repeatedly use the word "control." However, to be more precise, "we," be we growers, plantcare companies, or even retail stores, generally just talk about "killing" mites, and what products and processes kill them best. If people want to use chemical controls, fine by me. I thought all the discussions of chemicals might be a little off-putting for some people, so I merely wanted to throw in my experience of success using a simple, inexpensive, easy to acquire, and safe treatment. I don't think it's a "fault in my thinking" to say I never observed damage to a plant. The point with interior landscaping is not to grow plants as big as they can be, but to keep them looking beautiful. Spots, discolorations, stunted leaves, and so on, would not be beautiful, and these things I did not see. Some of these plants were in my care for several years, and did not show any negative effects. Informal observation has value, too. After all, I don't need to conduct detailed astronomical observations to be able to say with reasonable certainty that the sun will come up tomorrow. Spider mites, as well as other pests commonly found on indoor plants, are a fact of life. (Of course, if you live in an area where the winter temperatures are regularly below freezing, you're not going to be seeing bugs floating in from outside. Thanks for clarifying that.) That doesn't change the fact that they do float around when temps are warm, and they can infect anyone's plants at any time. Some people might appreciate knowing they have alternatives other than chemical insecticides for dealing with them, call it what you will - eradicate, exterminate, eliminate, extirpate - the point is to get the little buggers off your plants.