I need help with bug killers

OK since Sam the toad has been devoured I have nothing protecting the plants. I have some aphids show up and I saw a half dozen black and orange bug looking thing (not a wasp,beetle,spider,worm) looked kind of like a caterpillar but only 1/4" long (wifey saw a pic on internet and it looked like a harlequin ladybug to her). Well, I sprayed a lot of the garden with neem but I have well over 100 plants, so spraying on the bottom of each leaf really isn't an option. I layed out the neem for over an hour but I really need some proactive/long term solutiion. So I have several questions:

~Will neem get rid of the aphids if I only sprayed about 75% of the bottoms of each leaf in the garden? I had to miss some.
~If I get a bunch of ladybugs will I kill them with the neem?
~how many good ladybugs do I need for a 200sq ft garden with 130ish plants? Mantis?
~how about praying mantis? Will they fly away too?
~Do I need DDT or malathion or napalm ?

I am perfectly willing to go to extremes here, I am attributing this crop to Sam the deceased toad so I need this crop to work somehow.

help!

OK i got a pic of a dead black/orange thingy...

First of all, you need to determine if the bugs you're seeing are beneficial or harmful. If they're beneficial, then don't worry about it. Aphids can usually be treated with a soap/water solution, but you'll have to check daily and treat daily until the things are eradicated. Ladybugs will take care of them, but you have to be very, very, VERY patient with them. One bag of ladybugs should take care of your problem, but you can get more if you want. Any beneficial bug willl stay around as long as there's a food source.

Can you take a pic of the bug to determine what it is exactly? Can't help with the neem questions as I've never used it.

Edited to say that you posted a pic while I was typing out my reply.

This message was edited May 13, 2009 8:23 PM

and this is the aphids?

Oh! It's a baby ladybug!

Yes, those are aphids. They also come in black and brown models.

is that a good or bad ladybug? Is there such thing as a bad one? I get a pack of ladybugs for ~$13 at local nursery, should I go to a different nursery?

Thanks so much for the help!

That's a very good ladybug! They're very interesting to watch grow into ladybugs, too. We've had that pleasure this spring. I have no idea how much ladybugs cost, but you could always call around to different places and check prices.

dang, I sprayed the bug with neem and killed it. Now I feel like a total jerk. First my toad is massacred and now I euthanized a crop of baby ladybugs with neem. This is not a good time for me..... However, I sincerely appreciate your help. I need some time to think....

Ratfood all kidding aside. I have seen them at a nursery or working in a yard. All I know is about the time one sticks to your arm and you feel in on you, it bites. Small critter big ouch, ( hey I'm not a woose). I do not know the life cycle of a laddybug but they have never bitted me. Try googling up laddybug ,it helped me with a certian kind of loucas here. They had 6 different stages of maturity. Meanwhile let one crawl on your arm and in no time you will kill them too. I don't think they are our little garden friends. Four O'clock is happy hour, A toast to Sam the Toad I hope you are off work and can raise a glass.

Your dead black/orange thingy is the larvae stage of the ladybug and they eat TONS of aphids (I think more than when they actually turn into a ladybug). So sorry to hear about Sam. Now you need to concentrate on keeping those baby ladybugs around!!

A good blast of water from the hose will also take care of some of those aphids (as long as your plants can handle the blast).

Kelly

P.S. What you gonna do about that dirty snake???

OK thanks for the info folks~ So if I keep a bunch of ladybugs around I can't put any more neem out right. I guess sevendust will kill them too... Will a bunch of ladybugs keep all the bad bugs away?

The problem has solved itself. :)

You have aphids and now you have baby ladybugs. I wouldn't spray anything.

The problem with folks running out and buying 5,000 ladybugs is that they need food. Most of them fly away the moment you take them out of the package. The rest eat all the food and leave. If you want ladybugs to come to your garden and stick around, provide things for them to eat.

Also a few aphids won't kill anything and encourage ladybugs to appear.

You can use diatomaceous earth (DE--food grade not the stuff for the swimming pool) in place of sevin dust. Pretty much does the same thing and is safe for humans and animals, except the roaches, etc.

OK I flooded/showered all my plants to get the neem off. Then I got a pack of ladybugs so I am going to let them out this evening. I know most of them will go away but I just want to replace the ones I murdered yesterday. I think all is well...

Well I just wanted to let you know that I let the ladybugs out last night and I checked on them today. Those ladybugs have never been happier! A bunch of them were mating too so I guess we're going to have some more babies running around soon...
Thanks again.