What's with all the double posts? GW is having problems. I tried signing in Mon and Tues. Got error messages, and one message asking if I was sure I wanted to go to.......... Strange. Teen, why did you ask if I wanted PM to control insects? Purple, several months ago, I Googled PM. Several sites suggested these cuties would rid bad insects, and healther for the environment. I checked Ebay, but there weren't any eggs/cases available. Guess they weren't being sold because of the season. Organic gardeners use beneficial insects instead of insecticides...besides ladybugs, mantis were mentioned. And they are cute..:) Can Anole's live inside? If not, our winters would kill them. What I was told about mantis, 'not from a seller,' is adults die but their eggs survive the cold. The woman I talked to on the phone this morning used to work in a plant store. She found two mantis at work, brought them home..she said, the following year they had babies galore.. She lives in IL, too. If mantis eat ants, they'll live happily ever after. The town is loaded w/ants. They're everywhere. For a while we didn't see many, 'walking Coco,' but since the temps increased, THEY'RE BACK! There's all types of insects they can devour here. Anyway, after browsing Ebay earlier, I found a seller that sends 2 or 3 cases and 100 free ladybugs. :) 9.99. I started this post around 4pm. Dh came home, I had to make dinner, ate, washed dishes, fed Sparkle, Cricket and Coco...it's now 6:16pm. Sheesh. Purp, even if PM don't do the job I expect, they're adorable to look at. And I'll be a proud mama..... Hi Karen. Since Jan/Feb, I've gone through half a dozen gallon, vinegar containers..Heck, I even wash floors w/vinegar..lol. I clean kitchen counters, fridge, stove, bathrooms, computer screen and TV's w/vinegar. The entire house smells like salad. Dh hates it..lol. DS said it reminds him of a Chinese food dish he orders. Yesterday, while watching a show on tv, there was a commercial about a book that's out..how to kill pests organically...that's not the name of the book... They displayed a 1-800 number on the bottom of the tv screen to order the book. If an order was placed within 10-mins of the commercial, a second book was included..how to rid larger pests like squirrels, rabbits, etc. During one scene, they showed a woman drawing a circle on the floor, using chalk, around a dog bowl. Ants won't walk past a line..Strange, huh? But, most of the info can be found online for free. BTW, I started out using 50/50% vinegar and water, now I use it full strength. Vinegar kills ants on contact. Rhizo. I won't keep a mantis inside...Some sites talk about keeping mantis as pets, lol, but unless they're fed properly, I can't imagine the poor little guys living long, let alone laying eggs. About the species. There are three varieties sold on Ebay. Chinese, European and Carolina. There might be others... The company I ordered from is located in MN, but they order eggs..'by professionals,' lol. Rhizo, Terro works great..every so often a stray ant walks across the floor. Since you use Terro baits, have you ever noticed deformed strays? They're disgusting! Some look like they have two heads..oh gross. Seeing this ants is one reason I don't like using chemicals. Heck, seeing them sure doesn't make it easier. And they spray fresh food with similiar crap. I've got the weather channel on..To those who live in AR and OK, please be safe.

Hi, Libby! I was just passing through and noticed your post, thought I'd throw in my two cents! :o) We have found several egg cases around here, and since I knew they would probably be mowed down, I've moved them. I sometimes will take the stick/stem it's attached to, and stick it in the ground somewhere else. I've also stuck them in with other plants in a container on my porch. I think yours will be fine. They hatch once the weather is warm, but I'm not sure of the temperature. We even had some hatch in the house this winter!!! (A praying mantis had been in the house last fall, she left an egg sac up inside the corner of a window. When the weather got cold, we turned on a heater near the window, and they hatched!) Hoping you see lots of babies in your garden this year, Angel

Interesting - We've had three hatchings from this same egg case since last Saturday. They stop hatching as it cools a bit. In the heat of the day, they hatch...and then stop and then start the next time it gets warm. Those that have survived the anxious frogs beneath the case, I scooped up yesterday after it hit about 70 degrees and the third hatching came out. They quickly scatter and begin foraging. I clipped a bunch of grass that is covered with aphids and placed it in with them. They are in heaven and so far, they are not feeding on each other, but on the aphids. There are plenty more where those came from. We will be turning them loose soon, it's just interesting to watch them. I'm not much interested in having a greenhouse filled with another 4 or 5 hatchings from these wonderful creatures and it has only partially hatched. I think my frog patch is nervous and they know what will happen if these tiny creatures become big lol. When I went out this morning, there were three frogs surrounding the egg case. I know what they're waiting for lol. BTW...we probably have 50 or more frogs in our GH and 4 or 5 times that outside the greenhouse. You can't walk from the front porch to the greenhouse without having to walk around the little hoppers. They serenade us all day and all night too. Well thank you everyone for all the info...it has been a learning experience and we enjoyed watching these little guys hatch.

When I had a fairly dense hedge of Graham Stuart Thomas, I could count on three or four egg cases each year in that 36' long hedge. It was in too much sun and the cases tended to hatch on the same days that I was pruning that hedge. One thing I learned and never found a solution to....little guys and gal PMs are cannibals. When they come tumbling out of the big case, they are hungry. And they find siblings to be tasty. So, why didn't you disperse the siblings, Ann, get them to other roses where they could be happy? Because I tried, everything from blades of grass to blowing on them. Those tiny PMs are so delicate that anything I did, crushed them. Lesson learned....move the cases before they hatch....which is why knowing what hatched ones look like becomes important.