How practical is using Lady Bugs

Just wondering how common or effective it is to use live ladybugs to combat spider mites?

I do use them but I have to admit I think I just like ladybugs.
Being indoors they drown in the water pan if I dont dry them imediatly, they try to get in my ballast
they mostly hide all day in clusters on the ropes I have hanging from the lid.
There are always a few crawling on the plants but unless you can really eatsblish a colony
which is tough for me then you are always buying more. I still have to use chems anyway so
dont really know. However once I get the mites knocked back I feel better knowing those few are roaming
around eating some of the little bastards. I will watch this thread in hopes someone can shed some real light
on the topic. I think mine tend to starve and dehydrate because they are stupid.

very i order them by the hundreds also if you can get praying mantises shipped to you ( i wouldn't see why you couldn't) they are AMAZING. also try soapy water and spray your leafs down then lady bug it up.

Do the mantis eat mites or what?

Yeah Mantis r insect predators. Y do u think they made a kung fu based off the movement of the praying mantis.

I'm thinking about adding a few hundred ladybugs to my room to see how they do.... They are very cheap... Imma also look into the mantises... Thanks for the replys so far!

Ah yes kung-fu that explaines the mantis diet. I just never knew what they could grab with those dumb lookin
hands they have. They must not have to grab it to eat it.

I think part of the trick is an alternate food source because out of 15oo a great deal are already dead
like less than 2 weeks. I`m guessing that as the mites dissapate so does the colony.
Maybe less is actually more in this case so the few can at least have enough to eat.
Anyway

seriously?

[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1aYMvOyfKI[/video]

But what can a mantis do with those stupid claws, right.

dvs1038 said:

seriously?

[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1aYMvOyfKI[/video]

But what can a mantis do with those stupid claws, right.

Click to expand...

That link took me to cloning vid. I love the mantis so were cool man. lol

Yeah idk y its doing that its supposed to be a mantis killing a mouse, or u wanna see one killing a black widow, y don't u go to u tube and type in praying mantis and see it taking down some other mammals and insects. Or here i'll try one more time.

[video=youtube;pNcIUIULafw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNcIUIULafw[/video]

This one should work, damnit.

Or should I post the vid or mantis killing black widows, humming birds, snakes, hornets. The list goes on.

charface said:

Ah yes kung-fu that explaines the mantis diet. I just never knew what they could grab with those dumb lookin
hands they have. They must not have to grab it to eat it.

Click to expand...

They use slo-mo flying kicks. It's pretty awesome. cn

Yeah I understand they are bad ass my point is more can they grab a tiny spider mite
or are they beneficial to mj because they eat something else. Ill check out the vid now.
I bought a cacoon looking thing once and hatched a batch and let them go in my
blackberries. It was cool seeing them all over the place but they eventually left.

That mantis has a horrible attitude. But if I was a mouse I would never say it to his face

Hey I wouldn't joke around with a mantis that was to human scale probably jack me up. I forgot the name but its Tanglangquan the Chinese Kung Fu I was thinkin of.

Lacewings work well but adults like the light so you have to put a filter on it.