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What's red and black, covered in polka dots and cute as a bug? Of course it's the ladybug, the gardener's best friend! Lady bugs are among the most visible and best known beneficial predatory insects. They feed mainly on aphids, alfalfa weevils, bean thrips, mites, small insects and insect eggs. Besides eating aphids, ladybugs also require pollen for food.

You can encourage ladybugs to come to your garden by planting flowers and plants, that they are attracted to, such as alfalfa, fennel, dill, cilantro, caraway, angelica, tansy, wild carrot and yarrow. Other favorites include cosmos, coreopsis, morning glory, scented geraniums and dandelions. Be sure to use caution when planting anything considered invasive!

Another way to encourage ladybugs to stay in your garden, is by providing them a home....known as a ladybug house! The ladybug house or habitation box will provide the "little ladies" a safe place to spend the winter, lay their eggs and go through metamorphosis. Your house or habitation box should be filled with organic material such as peat or compost to encourage the ladybugs to roost and lay eggs inside the box. Make sure they have plenty of aphids and a source of water.

Wheast, a commercially available yeast and sugar mixture, can also be used to attract ladybugs by putting it out on a tray or spraying it on posts and plants. A mixture of sugar water works just as well. The mix consists of 5 oz. of sugar mixed in a quart of water.

Stay away from using insecticides. Ladybugs will not lay eggs in your garden, if their food supply is gone. You'll have to allow aphids and other insects on some plants, to keep the little ladies fed!

Naturally occurring ladybugs are much easier to keep in your garden, than ladybugs purchased from mail-order houses or gardening centers. It's better to rely on local ladybugs, populated by nature. With a little know-how, patience and work, you'll have an abundance of ladybugs in your garden. They'll help protect your food from pests and bring some cheer to your garden.

Learn more about this author, Mary D.
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