Do you use Beneficial Insects in your garden ?

[BruceAZ]

I bought a couple of plants and garden supplies from this nursery in CA, so they provided me with some catalogs to look through

http://www.groworganic.com/weed-and-pest-control/beneficial-insects.html

There are all kind of beneficial insects here.

I want to keep my garden organic and free of pesticide so i'm looking into this but i'm not sure if it is worth it..

Anyone here use these beneficial insects for the garden before?

I want to get rid of the flies (without using those smelly traps) + other pests in the garden

Thanks

 

[donrae]

I'm trying predator wasps this year for fly control. I think I may have underestimated how many I'll need

. But with all the animals, the flies get pretty bad in the late summer.

My garden is quite a ways from the house, so I may have to release separate batches.

We do well with native lady bugs here, most years anyway. Some native weed in the pasture they just love and I think lay eggs, or the beetles themselves eat it.

I'm researching beneficial insects right now, going to pick up some different plants to interplant in the veggies to attract them. Looks like a lot of herbs are good for the bugs.

I'd like to set up a dedicated space for bug plants, but the tiller took a dump and I'm not sure there's going to be anymore tilling done this year. I may have to go with what I've got and see how it works.

 

[lazy gardener]

DR, sorry your tiller is sick. Can you get your truck, or a garden cart to your garden? If so, you might consider giving up tilling all together, and convert to deep mulch. It works equally good for dry or wet soil. My old garden spot was heavy clay, too wet, not enough sun. I started the Ruth Stout method, and was able to work in my garden at least 4 - 6 weeks before my neighbors could.

 

[BruceAZ]

I'm trying predator wasps this year for fly control. I think I may have underestimated how many I'll need

. But with all the animals, the flies get pretty bad in the late summer.

My garden is quite a ways from the house, so I may have to release separate batches.

We do well with native lady bugs here, most years anyway. Some native weed in the pasture they just love and I think lay eggs, or the beetles themselves eat it.

I'm researching beneficial insects right now, going to pick up some different plants to interplant in the veggies to attract them. Looks like a lot of herbs are good for the bugs.

I'd like to set up a dedicated space for bug plants, but the tiller took a dump and I'm not sure there's going to be anymore tilling done this year. I may have to go with what I've got and see how it works.

i found this video to be pretty helpful

i guess for flies we have to deal with both the adult flies and the larvae

I'll build a fly trap and use chicken manure as bait + wrap insect screen around my coop
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Saint-Go...l-Insect-Screen-FCS8502-M-FCS8502-M/203063662


Fly parasite complex --is this the same as the wasps you mentioned?

some users told me with these beneficial insects-- the main problem is most or all will fly away anyway..

if that is true then it's waste of money to buy them in the first place :/

 

[Couture Family]

Right now, I'm using beneficial nematodes. I got them online from http://www.buglogical.com/
I purchased an acre size to use on less than 1/4 acre and as of yet I'm not really seeing that much of a difference. I know that the ground needs to stay wet so perhaps the ground hasn't been wet enough. It's raining a lot right now because of a tropical storm so I will spread them again this week and see if there is a difference by next week. If I don't see any difference after all this rain I will let you know by next week if it is worth purchasing or not. I have used them at least three times before with not too much of a difference but again I will say that perhaps the ground wasn't wet enough. So will see after this week? I'm really hoping it works because I'm not willing to spray anything on my veggies nor will I spray anything around my girls.

 

[BruceAZ]

Right now, I'm using beneficial nematodes. I got them online from http://www.buglogical.com/
I purchased an acre size to use on less than 1/4 acre and as of yet I'm not really seeing that much of a difference. I know that the ground needs to stay wet so perhaps the ground hasn't been wet enough. It's raining a lot right now because of a tropical storm so I will spread them again this week and see if there is a difference by next week. If I don't see any difference after all this rain I will let you know by next week if it is worth purchasing or not. I have used them at least three times before with not too much of a difference but again I will say that perhaps the ground wasn't wet enough. So will see after this week? I'm really hoping it works because I'm not willing to spray anything on my veggies nor will I spray anything around my girls.

do they stick around when you released them?

since the major problem some buyers have is most of these beneficial insects didn't stay .. so it's like watching your money flying away

 

[Couture Family]

do they stick around when you released them?

since the major problem some buyers have is most of these beneficial insects didn't stay .. so it's like watching your money flying away

The thing about the nematodes is that they live in the soil and are aquatic. So they need water to move about. So as long as the ground isn't soaked I don't think they can go very far. The only issue is keeping the ground wet enough so that they don't dry out and die. We are having the last of that storm today so I will spread them out tomorrow and should see a difference in about 48 hours.The other time I've spread them I think they dried out. I did find a couple dead bugs but not as many as I wanted to so we'll see what happens after having had all this rain to keep the ground wet. I just hope they eat all the bugs before the next wave of rains come and wash them away. But if they do wash away hopefully they only go next door and get all the bugs over there before they venture over here.

I think also for other beneficial insects (like the ones that can just fly away) that as long as there is enough food to feast on that they will stay but as soon as they have eaten everything they leave. So perhaps what happens that when they are released that they don't find the food source fast enough so they just go looking else where?

 

[BruceAZ]

The thing about the nematodes is that they live in the soil and are aquatic. So they need water to move about. So as long as the ground isn't soaked I don't think they can go very far. The only issue is keeping the ground wet enough so that they don't dry out and die. We are having the last of that storm today so I will spread them out tomorrow and should see a difference in about 48 hours.The other time I've spread them I think they dried out. I did find a couple dead bugs but not as many as I wanted to so we'll see what happens after having had all this rain to keep the ground wet. I just hope they eat all the bugs before the next wave of rains come and wash them away. But if they do wash away hopefully they only go next door and get all the bugs over there before they venture over here.

I think also for other beneficial insects (like the ones that can just fly away) that as long as there is enough food to feast on that they will stay but as soon as they have eaten everything they leave. So perhaps what happens that when they are released that they don't find the food source fast enough so they just go looking else where?

can you provide them with some cover ? if not your money will be washing away


praying mantis is a good beneficial insects since from the chart they ate everything.. i saw 1 of them on my potatoes plants but it's probably gone now

guess i have to buy them

do your local stores have these beneficial insects? or do you have to buy them online via these websites?

 

[Couture Family]

can you provide them with some cover ? if not your money will be washing away


praying mantis is a good beneficial insects since from the chart they ate everything.. i saw 1 of them on my potatoes plants but they it's probably gone now

guess i have to buy it

do your local store have these beneficial insects? or do you have to buy them online via these websites?

Cover, probably not because there are too many garden beds and the yard is too big since I also put the nematodes in the lawn.

Praying mantis are really cool but creepy looking. I'd love to find them in the yard but I haven't seen any. Another good bug that I'm actually going to try for the bugs that live above ground are those green lace wings. They eat a lot of things too. They get the white flies and mealy bugs.

I get all my beneficial online from the place that grows them I guess? What I mean is I don't like the idea of getting them from a third party website or the stores because you never know how long they've had them or if they are even still viable. And I find that third party places don't always know enough about the bugs. So that place I got them from online is really knowledgeable and I'm pretty sure they are where the bugs are grown or made or however that works?

The shipping cost is the only thing that stinks but I figure I'd rather pay a shipping than deal with pesticides or the bad bugs.

 

[BruceAZ]

Cover, probably not because there are too many garden beds and the yard is too big since I also put the nematodes in the lawn.

Praying mantis are really cool but creepy looking. I'd love to find them in the yard but I haven't seen any. Another good bug that I'm actually going to try for the bugs that live above ground are those green lace wings. They eat a lot of things too. They get the white flies and mealy bugs.

I get all my beneficial online from the place that grows them I guess? What I mean is I don't like the idea of getting them from a third party website or the stores because you never know how long they've had them or if they are even still viable. And I find that third party places don't always know enough about the bugs. So that place I got them from online is really knowledgeable and I'm pretty sure they are where the bugs are grown or made or however that works?

The shipping cost is the only thing that stinks but I figure I'd rather pay a shipping than deal with pesticides or the bad bugs.

do you use companion planting?

it's a good way to fight against pests without the use of pesticides