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What should I do when I receive my live ladybugs?
The ladybugs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. However, you will notice some mortality and associated smells if you keep them refrigerated that long.
It is recommended to release several each evening into the problem areas in your garden. They will feed during the night. By releasing the ladybugs in several batches, you will have the greatest success ridding your garden of pests.
In order to increase the probability of your red & black friends sticking around, get a lady bug house and position it near the garden. With shelter and food, the lady beetles are sure to be happy!

What do I do with the Praying Mantis egg cases once I receive them?
Although they can be refrigerated for several weeks, it is recommended that you attach the egg cases to a twig or plant (1-2 ft from the ground) within a couple days. Detailed instructions will arrive with the egg cases.
If you want to watch the process (it is easy to miss in nature), use a brown paper bag or terrarium. Check the container daily until the Praying Mantids hatch. Once they have hatched, release them into your garden at once - they are hungry and will get the job done!

I don't know what kind of birds are in my area. What type of feeder should I get?
If you feed them, they will come. It is common not to know all of the bird species that might visit, once you start feeding. You will be surprised about the variety that lives in your backyard.
Start with Niger (Thistle) Feeder (for the smallest finches), a seed feeder (for your small varieties) and a Peanut or Suet feeder (to attract the larger varieties). Be sure to provide water (a bird bath or pond) and shelter (a bird house) to create a habitat that your wild birds will love!

How can I control ticks in my yard?
Mosquito barrier, a natural product that is made from garlic, is the safe way for you to control mosquitos, fleas and ticks in your yard. The product is not harmful to pets, humans or other friendly critters in your backyard.

I was wondering if you offer any kind of product that would repell skunk? I have a problem with the kritters camping out under my porch. I heard that there is some animals urine that can be used and was wondering if you offer that type of product, or if you could advise me on a realiable source?
Due to their nature (and odor), skunks are rather difficult to deal with. For starters, I would attempt to seal up any access under your porch if possible. That is the most effective way to keep them out. If that is not possible, I would then try seasoning the area where hang out with a heavy dose of dry Cayenne Pepper Powder (the kind you can get at the grocery store). Once critters get a snout full of pepper, they usually look for a new spot.
If you still have problems, you can try the predator urine. I have seen and used both Bobcat and Coyote urine, but mostly as a deer repellant. Ideally, you should use the urine of a predator that occurs in your local area, so the pest critters will recognize it. If you would like, I could get some for you. I assume it will be between $10-15 for an eight ounce bottle. However, I am not convinced this would work on skunks, because nothing really preys upon skunks, so the "fear factor" may not be effective.
The only surefire way, and my recommendation, is to trap the critter(s). The trap will not hurt the animal, it simply traps them in a cage. Once trapped, cover the cage, to calm the animal, and prevent spraying, then drive the skunk out to the country and set it free. Not an easy solution, but it removes the problem for good. You should be able to find a trap at a hardware or farm supply store. If not, let me know and we can get you one.
I hope this helps, let me know how it goes.

This is the second year for my garden. Our house is 7 years old, so our lawn was probably a corn/soy bean field 10 years ago.
I am still having some problems with the garden not draining very quickly. Water will be in puddles for some time after a hard rain. It just seems like the water should drain down faster. Last year I tilled in some sand and peat moss. It is worth noting that I had a great garden last year; everything thrived (especially tomatoes) except for my green peppers. This year when I began turning the soil for the first time I did noticed the soil was dense like clay and very moist. Should I till something different in this year to improve the soil?
We would agree with your assessment, your soil should be draining more quickly. In order to transform your soil into a complete soil and improve drainage, we would recommend adding organic material (compost) and lava rock (if available in your area). The lava rock will assist in creating a permanent drainage structure within the soil.
You can usually find both at a local nursery/garden supply store (in small quantities) or at a landscape supply/rock supply company (in larger quantities).
Please let us know how it goes. It sounds like you are on the right track with last year's success!

Do praying mantis eat millipedes? I have a lot of millipedes that seem to be eating my plants.

Millipedes are considered a beneficial insect, and typically do not cause damage to living plants. They serve an important role as decomposers in your ecosystem. They live in cool damp places, so you may find them under piles of leaves or in your mulch. They feed on rotting and dead plant material, rather than damaging living plants.

Your plant damage is likely caused by another pest that thrives in similar conditions such as Slugs, Snails, and Earwigs. If you could send a picture and/or a more detailed description of your plants & their damage, I should be able to give you a more specific diagnosis.

As for the diet of a Praying Mantis, I think that it is unlikely that they would eat Millipedes. They prefer to hunt in & on plants rather than on the ground. Plus Millipedes have a super hard & crunchy shell with not as much of the tasty, juice filling that Praying Mantis enjoy.

Hope this helps,

Good Luck & Good Gardening,

Thanks for your reply. The damage is around the edges of the leaves in a slightly irregular crunching pattern. The leaves affected are heucheria and ferns. I can't find anything on them in the day so I'm thinking its a night feeder. I don't see that many slugs. I'm using a light layer of coco shells for mulch. Its a damp area. What do you think?

Sounds like slugs and/or snails to me. Typically they are active and feed at night. You can try to catch them in the act by inspecting your plants after dark with a flashlight. Depending on where in the country you live, you may also have an Earwig problem. Their damage looks very similar to that of slugs & snails. If these slimy critters are to blame, we offer a couple of non-toxic remedies,

Slug & Snail Bait:

http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/pd_sluggo-snail-slug-bait.php

Beer Bait Traps:

http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/pd_slug-snail-trap-safer-pit.php

Earwig Traps: http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/pd_earwig-trap.php

Also FYI - Be careful when using coco hulls as mulch. Dogs love the smell of fresh coco hulls and have been known to eat them. Chocolate & coco are poison to dogs & can make them very sick or even kill them. However, if dogs don't have access to your garden, no worries!

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the info - we're in New York City. I'll let the dog owners in our

building know about the coco. How can I tell if it’s Earwigs?

Slugs & Snails will leave behind shiny, slimy trails, while earwigs will leave tiny dark pellets.

Hello my name is Jeff and I live south of Houston near the bay in La Porte. We have an infestation of little white bugs that resembles snow in our trees. Just when we were going to invest in pesticides we got more company.... LOTS of ladybugs and assasin bugs. My questions are in 2 parts.
1- What can I do to encourage the ladybugs to stay. We've been researching what kind of plants they like but most sites just tell you how to order the actual bugs. We've been leaving out water and misting them with apple juice.
2- are these assasin bugs safe to keep around. Everyone claims they are meat eaters but they have destroyed some of my tomatos by burrowing in the fruit. They can stay but how do I encourage them to stay away from my tomatos without killing them. What kind of habitation do they require?

Thanks for visiting our site & we're glad you didn't immediately reach for toxic pesticides to deal with your infestation. I can give you some general advice, but without knowing exactly what pests you are dealing with it is difficult to be too specific. It seems from your description that you likely have Aphids, Woolly Aphids, or Whitefly. However, if you could email a digital image of your pests, I can make a more accurate analysis. Or you could use a handy bug ID card on your own: http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=156

1. There are several method to entice ladybugs to frequent, stay, and reproduce in your backyard. Typically, ladybugs are not attracted a specific place due to plants, but rather the availability of food, or bugs. However, once they are in your garden, they do prefer certain plants for shelter. In the test garden we have seen many ladybugs frequenting our Sunflower plants.

We do offer a couple of natural attractants for beneficial insects. We have Beneficial Bug Booster: http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/index.php?ain_page=product_info&products_id=151 This product is a pheromone based spray that entices good bugs to stay around long enough to reproduce, which is key to building an effective population. We also have a ladybug specific lure: http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/pd_ladybug-lure.php that you attach to infested plants. Additionally, we offer ladybug houses, to create a place for them to hide from harsh sun & heat and reproduce. http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/pd_ladybug-house.php Finally, your idea of misting is a good one, if there is no other nearby water source. Try using water only since the sugar in juice may attract other pests such as ants.

2. Assassin bugs are safe to have around. However, there are several other bugs that may look similar to assassins. Lightning bugs, for example, may look very similar to an assassin bug from the top. So, you may want to check and be sure they are assassin bugs. We had a large population of assassin bugs in the test garden early this Summer. They didn't bother any of our vegetables, and the population has since all but disappeared, off to "greener pastures" I suppose. I would have a closer look at your tomatoes to see if there may be another culprit. Again, if you could send a picture, I may be able to be more helpful.

I hope this helps & let me know if you have any more questions.

I understand that some lady beetles are good for combating soft scale infestations on Magnolia trees. Which type of lady beetle is best suited for this? Also, when releasing lady beetles to combat soft scale, do specific types of plants need to be added to the garden for the lady beetles or to keep the lady beetles in the area?

Thanks

You understand correctly that Ladybugs can be very effective on Soft Scale, however they are ineffective against Hard Scale. The Ladybugs we offer are up to the challenge! 1/2 pint of Ladybugs http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/pd_ladybugs.php should be sufficient for a reasonably sized tree. However, you may need more if your tree is extra large. The Ladybugs will arrive with release instructions, but if you have further or specific questions, we're here to help.

As for plants that support Beneficial Insects, we offer a seed kit that offers a wide variety of flowers that they love! http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/pd_flowers-for-insects.php These flowers are also great for attracting important pollinating insects like Butterflies & Bees. In the Test Garden we often see Ladybugs hanging out on Sunflowers.

We also offer "Bug Booster". http://www.suburbanhabitat.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=151 It is a spray that you apply to your garden in order to attract more six legged helpers.