An Army of Aphid Exterminatours

As soon as we started using the heat in the greenhouse to keep it above 50 degrees F at night, we developed an aphid infestation the size of Manhattan!

So we called in the troops.

A container of ladybugs has yielded positive results.

I released them over the course of three evenings (whether you are releasing them indoors or outdoors, this is the recommendation to imprint their new home on them), keeping the remainder of the beetles in the refrigerator in a state of hibernation.

When you release these guys, you'll want to provide a little saucer of water for them.

I am barely covering the lid from a yoghurt container with water for them each day.

Watering your plants before works too.  They'll find their way to the water droplets on the leaves.

One thing to note for next year is to clear the cobwebs from under the tables before releasing this beetles.  A few have gotten tangled up in the webs, poor things.

As for the aphids...they seem to be dimenishing in quantity.

When i find new ones on my seedlings, i move the beetles around and then devour those little aphid nuggets quick as lightening.