Today’s This Land of Ours program has Cathy Isom letting you know how to encourage more Ladybugs into your garden.
Ladybugs can be your garden’s best friend, because these beautiful creatures with jazzy wing markings love to eat pests!
Such as aphids, for example, which are known to destroy many plants and flowers. It’s tempting to panic at the first sign of aphids, but hold off on using any pesticides. A little restraint often pays off with a visit from hungry Lady bugs.
One way to attract Ladybugs into your garden is with pollen-rich blooms. Flat-topped flowers such as yarrow, angelica, fennel and dill are great, along with common companion plants like calendula, sweet alyssum and marigold.
Offer ladybugs somewhere to overwinter too. They usually hibernate in hollow stems and other nooks and crannies, so delay cutting back old stems till spring. Or, why not make your own ladybug hotel by stuffing straw and a bundle of wide bamboo sections into an old pot, tied together to keep them all in place. Stuff more straw around the sides for insulation, and position the ladybug house one to three feet above the ground, in a sheltered, sunny spot.
Listen to Cathy Isoms This Land of Ours program.