Ladybug care

I recently bought 1500 ladybugs they quickly eliminated my scale bug/aphid problem. I keep raisins and a wet sponge as a secondary food source. Is there a better food source? Also they have bundled up in a top corner of my tent i assume they are breeding or hibernating? I personally wouldn't consider it a complete success unless I am able to keep them alive for the long term. Any insights or first hand knowledge would be appreciated.

I can't imagine having 1500 bugs lose in my tent LOL. That said I did read that they don't finish the job and usually take off when the prey is slim pickins. Maybe since they have nowhere to go they'll get desperate.

I use those fake lady bugs and they do the job really well, but they're really dumb and wander away from the botanical paradise to die in a crack in the wall somewhere. They're incredibly dumb. By far the biggest pest killer you can unleash on a garden is centipedes. Centipedes kill hundreds of insects a day; they're brutal. They're even harder to keep in the grow space than beetles though.

Centipedes creep me out after doing some infantry duty in Hawaii. Fucking huge and come out of their holes in the pouring rain. Head the size of your thumb and all pinchers full of venom. They don't talk about them in the travel brochures.

LOL yeah I don't mean tropical megapedes LOL

KlompenOG said:

LOL yeah I don't mean tropical megapedes LOL

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I never saw one this big but you get the idea...

I was thinking more of a household variety.... lol

KlompenOG said:

I was thinking more of a household variety.... lol

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I am sure they are great and all, but that is not going to fly with Mrs Beer. Spiders are a big no and creepy centipedes fall right into that category. We are fine with them outside but cross the internal sanctuary border and squish...

Can't upset Mrs Beer

I have to say that these ladybugs really impress me sometimes. If you give them conditions to keep hydrated and fed; they will clean your plants incredibly fast. I had one plant yesterday that was covered in some sort of scales/barnacles and the ladybugs have demolished them utterly. The were hundreds and now there's less than a dozen probably on all of the veg plants(pests didn't seem to reach the flower chamber somehow). I really need to build a proper habitat for my ladybugs, but so far I have been keeping some wet paper towels for them to get a drink from.

Ladybugs swarm when they hate your bright lights and airflow but can't get out of your tent. They want to get out and find better food and environments to live in.