One of the most annoying insects one may find in your garden is thrips. Fortunately, one of the easiest ways to deal with any pest, like thrips, is to encourage beneficial predators. But are ladybirds one of these predators? And do ladybirds eat thrips or not?
Yes, ladybirds do eat thrips. Both adult ladybirds and ladybird larvae will eat thrips, including thrip eggs.
Introducing natural predators is one of the best ways to tackle thrips or any insect infestation in your garden. The good news is that a natural predator of thrips is ladybirds.
You can either purchase ladybirds and their larvae online or you can simply make your garden more attractive to ladybirds to naturally entice them to your garden.
Do Ladybirds Eat Thrip Eggs?
One of the best things about using ladybirds in your garden is that they target thrip eggs.
You can release the ladybirds, and they will consume not only thrips but their larvae and eggs. One of these benefits is that it provides greater control on thrips. If ladybirds consume the eggs, they will not get the chance to hatch.
Overall, the trip population will be greatly reduced because ladybirds can target all stages of the thrip life-cycle.
Do Ladybird Larvae Eat Thrips?
As aforementioned, the best way to deal with insects in your garden is by introducing natural predators like ladybirds. Thrips are a recurring problem in most gardens, and gardeners have used ladybirds to control their population.
A benefit of using ladybirds is that they will consume the adult thrips and their eggs. But not only do adult ladybirds contribute to controlling the thrip population, so do the larvae.
In fact, the ladybird larvae are more beneficial as they have a large appetite and will consume more thrips.
How to Use Ladybirds in Gardens
Gardeners have to deal with a lot of pests to maintain a beautiful garden. It is not an easy task because pests can be persistent. While insecticides and chemicals may seem like the obvious choice to get rid of these insects, it is not the most ideal.
There are better ways you can adopt healthier practices to get rid of pests like thrips. One way to do so is to have natural predators like ladybirds in your garden.
You can have ladybirds in your garden by attracting them naturally or purchasing commercially available ones. You can get your hands on ladybirds in garden shops and buy them in bulk for your garden.
However, you will have to do extra work to ensure that the ladybirds feel comfortable and stick around in your garden.
Ladybirds thrive on insects and pollen. In order to ensure that ladybirds stick around in your garden, you need to ensure that both things are present. It may seem like a bad idea to enable pests in your garden; however, once ladybirds are there, they will help control the population and counter the problem.
It would help if you refrain from spraying any chemicals in your garden as it will cause harm to all bugs, including ladybirds.
If you purchase ladybirds, you must put them in the fridge until you release them in your garden. When you buy ladybirds, the package includes instructions which you must follow. These insects are placed in cold storage and are, therefore, hibernating.
Another important aspect of using ladybirds in your garden is releasing them at the correct time. It would help to release the ladybirds after sunset as they do not fly during the night.
By the time morning comes, ladybirds will be in your garden. You need to ensure that you have watered the garden as the ladybird will be thirsty when you release them.
Commercially available ladybirds come with their food. There is a small packet of food that you must prepare. You must prepare the food beforehand and release the ladybirds in your garden.
Summary
Whenever most people experience an insect infestation, their first instinct is to reach for insecticides. However, using chemicals is not always the best solution, and you can opt for natural ways.
One way to deal with thrips in your garden is by introducing natural predators like ladybirds. Ladybirds are known to consume not only thrips but other insects too. Hence, one of the best things you can do for your garden is to introduce ladybirds.
You can naturally attract ladybirds if you have many pests and flowering plants since they are attracted to gardens.
Moreover, you can purchase commercially available ladybirds. You must ensure to release the ladybirds after sunset and water the garden as they would be thirsty. In addition, before releasing, you must prepare the ladybird food which comes with the packet.
