Can ladybugs coexist with other pest control methods?
Written by
Tina Carter
Reviewed by
Prof. Samuel Fitzgerald, Ph.D.Ladybug pest control is most effective when used in conjunction with other methods, strategic placement of insecticide is key. Do not use broad-spectrum insecticides, because they will eliminate lady beetles too. We would recommend using lady beetles along with pheromone traps, as these traps are very specific to certain insects like moths, and preserve your lady beetles to manage aphid pest problems. For example, we worked with one client's farm using these layered strategies, and they experienced an increase in yield of 30%.
Chemical Precautions
- Use insecticidal soap only during ladybug dormancy (early spring/late fall)
- Apply neem oil at dawn/dusk when beetles are less active
- Avoid pyrethrins entirely, they kill ladybugs within hours
Biological Allies
- Introduce nematodes for soil-dwelling grubs at night
- Pair with lacewings, they hunt different pest life stages
- Use *Beauveria bassiana* fungi for beetles immune to other controls
Cultural Practices
- Rotate crops to disrupt pest breeding cycles
- Plant marigolds between rows to repel root-knot nematodes
- Install yellow sticky traps above canopy height to avoid beetles
The timing for combining controls was important in his case. He released ladybug larvae before nematodes came into the vineyard, because they don't hunt the same pests at the same time. A vineyard manager was successful: he used nematodes on the root level to control vine weevils and ladybug larvae to control pest on the foliage. Subsequently, their gross yields increased by 25 percent, while the resulting fruit was produced without the use of any pesticide application.
Designing a habitat can prevent many conflicts from occurring. To connect ladybugs with the crops, plant dill and fennel in proximity to the crops. Pheromone traps can be a least-damage solution for storing food at least 50 feet from the crops. This zoning resulted in around an 80% reduction in pantry moth infestations in a Colorado greenhouse while maintaining ladybugs alive and producing quality.
Monitor each population each week. Randomly walk into 10 plants per acre looking for ladybug eggs or pest infestation. A citrus grower managed to control 95% of scale insects by balancing beetles with parasitic wasps, providing evidence that using a combination of pest control methods provided better results than one method.
Read the full article: Ladybugs Pest Control: Benefits and Risks
