Beneficial Insects
Urban Garden carries a variety of beneficial bugs and nematodes to help with organic gardening. Not only is it a safe and natural approach to solving buggy issues, it's fun for kids and adults alike!
Ladybugs:
Ladybugs are capable of consuming up to 50 to 60 aphids per day but will also eat a variety of other insects and larvae including scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites, and various types of soft-bodied insects. Ladybugs, also called lady beetles or ladybird beetles, are a very beneficial group of insects.
Release Instructions: Ladybugs should be released ideally in the evening, early morning or when it is cool or overcast. Ladybugs will move more slowly at these times. Misting foliage beforehand may improve performance. With ample food and moisture, ladybugs can begin reproducing immediately. After opening package, spread ladybugs throughout the yard, particularly on infested material.
Praying Mantids:
Praying Mantids are beautiful insects that have a voracious appetite. They help to control insect pests the organic way. Mantids are strictly carnivorous and feed on almost any insect that they can overcome.
Attach the egg case to a twig or plant 1-2 feet above the ground. When hatching occurs, the babies will crawl out through tiny flaps in the egg case and suspend themselves from silky threads. After 1-2 hours the long-legged young will dry-out and disperse, leaving little to no evidence of their appearance.
We at Urban Garden leave them in their container on a sunny but not too hot window sill in our home. Every day we check for signs of hatching. When they do hatch we release immediately. This way you don't miss the absolutely amazing sight of them hatching.
Eisenia fetida (aka Red Wigglers)
Red wigglers consume organic material and burrow 24 hours a day. As they travel through the soil, they open oxygen passages for roots and breakdown the soil while excreting a natural soil nutrient called "worm castings." These castings are high in nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, potash, humus and will feed your plants for weeks without burning them.
ALSO IN STOCK:
GREEN LACEWING (APHID EXTERMINATORS)
FLY EXTERMINATORS