Attracting Ladybirds Into Your Garden.

To nurture ladybirds (ladybugs) in our gardens we need to provide food, water and shelter. Harbinger of spring with it’s magic of turning winter idleness into a paradise of euphoria. Everything in the garden starts to erupt and ladybirds come out of hiding to go to work to protect our gardens from aphids, mites, scale, white flies that attack our vegetable patches and garden. Being carnivorous ladybirds gorge on bugs that eat leaves and can consume up to 20-25 in a day.

Ladybirds are friends we want to keep in our gardens. Remember to keep a shallow bowl of water topped up daily with a couple of rocks so ladybirds can safely land and for shelter introduce an insect hotel with small cavities that ladybirds can use as protection. It should be securely placed against a fence or tree about 1.5 - 2 metres above ground in semi sunlight or light shaded area protected from the wind. Adding a few sultanas in the cavities may also help to attract.

Planting a diverse garden with flowers to attract ladybirds is easy as ladybirds enjoy brightly coloured small flower heads which make great landing pads, especially species umbelliferous (shape like umbrellas) and coreopsis (tickseed), which comes from the greek meaning ‘bug like’.

Just some of the flowers ladybirds have a love affair with include Coriander, Yarrow, Angelica, Queen Anne Lace, Cosmos, scented Pelargoniums & Geraniums, Dill, Fennel, Alyssum, Cornflowers, Caraway where the pollen is easily accessible. Allow vegetables and herbs to go to seed occasionally as ladybirds love the pollen in the flowers. You’ll usually find ladybirds in roses as they bud into flower where aphids abound and underneath the leaves of nasturtiums amongst the yellow and orange flowers. There’s something about the colour yellow, the colour of happiness, optimism, sunshine and friendship, ladybirds are particularly attracted to marigolds, calendulas and are magnets to sunflowers enjoying their pollen and nectar when they are at their golden best.

Forget insecticides if you want to keep ladybirds in your garden.

Ladybirds Loving Life!