Are Ladybugs Worth Buying for Your Garden?

I personally wouldn't recommend buying ladybugs because many sold are actually taken from the wild. Instead, try creating a native landscape around your garden. This provides a habitat for beneficial insects and can help keep pests in check. Also, leaving leaf litter over winter helps create a healthy ecosystem, and look for native species to encourage!

I originally got ladybugs to delight my daughter, and they actually stayed around since I had a serious aphid problem. They really helped my roses and corn! You can also keep the ladybugs contained on infested plants for better results and release them when they’re needed. Plus, I've seen ladybug larvae available in science kits for kids—they might stick around longer!

I've never bought ladybugs since they usually just fly away! It's the larvae that really do the job eating aphids, while the adults are more focused on reproducing. When you release them, they’re usually looking to scatter and find food, especially in heavy infestations, which is why they disappear so quickly. I've got plenty of ladybugs in my leaf litter naturally, and they do a great job controlling pests without any extra effort on my part.

The ladybugs you bought were probably the invasive Asian variety. They tend to invade homes in the fall, and it’s a nightmare! I clean out buckets of them every spring. If you’re looking for beneficial bugs, it might be better to find ways to attract native species instead.