Ladybugs to Control Aphids?

I was out trimming my clematis today and noticed that almost every leaf was covered in a thick ooey-gooey clear sap, as well as hundreds of little aphids. I am unsure whether the sap was in response to the aphids or is a natural condition of the plant, but as I was putting the clippings in the garbage, I couldn’t help but want to gag.

I would like to get rid of the aphids and I have some spray chemicals that I use on my roses that are at ground level, but the clematis grows like a hula-skirt around my two- story home. It would be very difficult to spray the whole thing every three weeks like it says on the bottle, and I would have to use a few gallons(The plant is HUGE.)

I have heard about using ladybugs to kill aphids, but have never actually known anybody that used them. I hear they send them to your house alive in a milk carton and you walk around your garden and pour a little here and there. I like the idea of using natural pest control because I would be using gargantuan amounts of the chemicals and that worries me. Also, I have about five nesting families of finches living in it and it would just break my heart.

Has anyone ever tried ladybugs or heard any stories?

I did it one year. Only I didn’t know that you should do something about the honey ants first. When I released the ladybugs they were attacked by the ants. It was a gruesome scene. But still there were enough ladybugs that they took care of the aphid problem and then many flew off and a few stayed around for years. They were still there when we moved from that house. Anyway, I say, go for it. Worked for me.

Good to see that someone’s had success with ladybugs. Though I’ve heard that results are spotty, partly because the buggers may decide to fly off to someone else’s garden, leaving you holding the box (so to speak).

Non-toxic remedies that may take care of your aphids include spraying a soap solution (horticultural or dish soap) every few days until the aphids croak, or using a hose spray repeatedly to knock them off the plant(s).

I’d try the ladybugs–they sell some that are apparently homebody-ish (less likely to fly the coop). Good for you for trying to avoid the chemicals. There are some pesticides that aren’t bad for the environment. I just bought some Pyola to try to get rid of the beetles that are chomping the bejesus out of my rudbeckias. I bought this stuff from a company called “Gardens Alive!” (yes, they’re on the web, and they sell ladybugs, too).

plant yarrow by your garden ladybugs love this plant

From what I understand, the problem is that for every 100 ladybugs you release (or praying mantises or whatever those parasitic flies they sell are called), only about 2 stick around in your yard. In a horticulture class I took once, the instructor got on a tangent about this and recommended that you do the following:

Take your horde of lady bugs and put them into a plastic grocery bag. Take a mouth full of soda and spew it into the bag with pursed lips to mist the ladybugs with soda. Release.

Apparently, the soda makes their wings all sticky so they can’t fly away for several days until it rains or whatever to wash them clean. In the meantime, they meander around your garden getting the job done. Never tried it myself, mind you (I live in an apartment anyway), but it’s what I heard.

I used to landscape and take care of a number of properties, my remedy for aphids was always dish soap applied with a hose end sprayer. It never failed to rid the property of these little pests.

I just finished spraying the lawn where I work, I used a 50/50 mix of ammonia and soap applied with a hose end sprayer and this does several things; the ammonia gives the lawn a boost of fertilizer, and the soap conditions the soil, removes static, and prepares the lawn for the subsequent application of herbicide. The soap causes the herbicide to adhere to the weeds and be that much more effective. I do this once a month over the summer.

The cost to do this is ridiculously cheap.