Who know anything about ladybugs - I guess I don't.

[AloeRuss]

Hi

This is a second batch from reputable source.
They both died within two hours. All 1000 of them. Twice.
My first grow I brought them too and they lasted for months.

I harvested. I cleaned the room. I bombed the room just in case of any pest left out. I cleaned the room again. I sprayed my plants with forbid.
About week later I brought first batch. They all came out of the bag and started to go and fly around. An hour later they were dead.

I am still early in vegge and I sprayed with avid. About 10 days later (today) I brought 1000 bugs. They quickly started to come out. An hour later, most of them dead. Another half of them still sitting in the can I brought them in and doesn't want to come out.

I cannot figure out wtf is going on.
All basics like water, food, light, temp, humidity, etc. is covered. There is something else. They all come in alive but all falls dead almost immediately. I need some ideas people.

 

[dank.frank]

Forbid. Avid. Pesticides. (any reason you are using such harsh pesticides in the first place?)

Lady BUGS...

Just a guess.



dank.Frank

 

[usermane]

I always let em out at the start of the dark cycle, they seemed to live longer.

 

[paulo73]

Why are you using Biological Pest Control (Ladybugs) straight after using some of the nastiest chems available?
That´s just mean for those poor ladybugs

 

[TheCleanGame]

Great conditions for growing awesome cannabis... sucks for ladybugs anyway. The avid residuals most likely axed them.

Dunno what your methods are, I keep my flower rooms filtered to keep out dust/bugs/pollen/etc and spend very little time in there. All issues with 'bugs' show up in veg first and can be handled safely there.

Pest control has a lot to do with equipment setups and what tasks/methods you actually DO... and a lot less to do with what you're spraying or applying.

Keep it Clean!

 

[cough_cough_eer]

I accidentally killed my ladybugs with a no pest strip.

 

[Jhhnn]

As offered above, pesticide residue is the likely problem. We buy ladybugs for the yard, set them out in the evening at sunset, per the instructions, and have 'em out there all summer. Never tried 'em indoors.

No pest strips? I confess to having used one in veg for thrips. It's a weapon of mass destruction wrt bugs. Ten days of that nearly a year ago and I haven't seen one since. Finito.

 

[Mknasty32]

what the hell?
OVERDUN..
overthink much guy?
and why do you have bugs?
if you have that much of a pest problem..
you need to rethink yourself

 

[AloeRuss]

I had spider mites early on. Still ways to bloom, so used avid to be done with them all.
Ladybugs is not to kill the infestation. I use them for preventive measures.
I guess I have to switch to neem oil for now

 

[paulo73]

If you just had extreminated the spider mites what would the ladybugs eat?!
What would they prevent!? You lost me there....

 

[AloeRuss]

When you get insurance it doesn't mean you will get into an accident tommorow, right?

 

[somerandom]

Lady Bugs will eat grapes and oats. When i used them i also put down either a folded paper towel or cotton ball and kept them moist at all times, they like to drink water.

when you release them they will circle the container rim endlessly and rarely go up into the plant. What i did was balance several bamboo stakes on the rim and up into the plant, this helped them find their way to where they needed to be.

Just some suggestions if you try to use them again.

 

[TimeKeeper]

I don't even know where to start with this one. First avid is not very effective for mites and it has some residual effects and should not be used in your home. Forbid will work well for mites but it is only labeled for ornamental use. NEVER use it on anything you plan to put in your body. How the hell did you get ahold of Forbid anyway? You must be licensed to buy and use it. And its about $200 per 8oz! And ladybugs need a food source in order to be of any use. They do not eat grapes or oats at any stage of their life! Strictly predatory. Stay safe people.

 

[MJBadger]

They do not eat grapes or oats at any stage of their life! Strictly predatory

And that is the truth . Your problem ain`t hard to work out . You got some nasty chemicals in there with residual traces all over plants compost & probably walls then you introduce ladybirds into the poison factory .

You need to make a choice , either organic predator control or poison , you can`t mix them .

 

[paulo73]

I beg to differ guys.
After further researching they´re now getting to the conclusion that ladybugs are further more omnivorous than we thought before.
Some sub-families like the Epilachninae can be even considered vegetarian and some other feed almost only from fungi.
There are more than 5000 species of ladybugs so generalization is not a good thing
This said the ladybug on the lovely shot from MJBadger only feeds on small pests and it´s strictly predatory at least to my knowledge.
Next week someone will say that one was seen on a veggie buffet.

 

[MJBadger]

Good point Paulo , but seeing as this thread is about pest control I should imagine you`d need a predatory ladybird to do the job . I thought I was kinda clued up on garden bugs but have never heard of ladybugs eating anything else apart from other insects but with 5000 types out there it would not surprise me .