Unpopular opinion: I quit buying ladybugs for my garden after 3 summers, here's what changed my mind
I used to drop $40 every spring on 1,500 ladybugs from the garden center over in Mesa. Felt like I was doing something good. Then last June I noticed the ladybug population in my tomato bed was actually lower than my neighbor's yard, and she never buys a single one. Started reading up on it and turns out most of those shipped ladybugs just fly off or die. So now I just plant dill and fennel around the edges and let the natives show up on their own. Took about 6 weeks but I've got way more ladybugs now than I ever got from a bag. Anyone else made the switch from buying bugs to just planting for them?