help....ladybugs...EVERYWHERE

[Dsignrguy]

So as summer started to come around, I was prepping Khumbus outside cage for him and I noticed a slight aphid outbreak as the Hybiscus were starting to come back to life after the winter...no big deal. A few weeks later, I was about to put him in the cage when I notied dead aphid EVERYWHERE....thousands of em.....then I noticed these weird tiny orange and gray caterpillar like bike bugs all over the cage eating the aphids. Not knowing what they were, I decided not put khumu in his summer home. This morning, I went to check out his cage and found BAZILLIONS of ladybugs.

I've heard mixed things about them being toxic....does anyone actually know? I don't need "i think" or "I heard" answers......I need DEFINITE knowledge.

also, Any ideas on how to get rid of them, yet keep the enclosure safe for him?

Thanks in advance,
Shawn

 

[kinyonga]

The orangey and black things that you saw were the ladybug larva....and lady bugs are toxic so I expect that the larva are too...so you made a good call not putting Khumbus in the cage.

If you kill off the lady bugs, you will likely still have aphids destroying the plant...so I don't know what to do about it...except to say the lady bugs will leave when there's nothing more to eat.

 

[VerteX]

For aphids, investigate "Neem oil". I use it with success.