Besides the beautiful bright colors and his funny dotted back, the ladybug has a handy feature. It provides an environmentally friendly way to combat aphids and other scum in the garden.

Help the ladybug and they will help you

Aphids feed on the sap of leaves and stems of plants. They eat the whole garden in no time. The nasty creatures feast on, for example, herbs, roses and fruit trees. And with a little bit of bad luck you'll find ants along side the aphids, because they love the sugars the aphids release. Fortunately both larvae and adult ladybugs feed on up to 80 to 100 aphids a day! Therefore every garden can use a few ladybugs! But how do you attract and keep ladybugs in the garden?

A house to hide in

The ladybug is very sensitive to weather conditions and is always looking for a place to hide and hibernate in and around the garden. They do this preferably in large numbers together. If they succeed, the animals can last up to 2 generations, but unfortunately they often freeze to death in winter due to lack of shelter. This can be prevented! A ladybug nesting box is, as the name suggests, specially designed for the ladybug. These boxes have narrow horizontal openings, making it easy for them to crawl inside and keep the enemy at bay.

Proper placement of the box contributes to good occupancy of the box. Hang the box preferably at a height of 30 to 60 centimeters and if possible near the plants with aphids. In this way they will easily find the box and your customer will be supported in the fight against aphids all year round.

The wide and sloping roofs of our ladybird boxes protect against wind and rain. Hang the box in a sheltered spot as much as possible to prevent rain and wind from directly entering the box. Your customer can make the box extra comfortable and attractive by putting some loose leaves, wood wool or a roll of corrugated cardboard in the box.

New arrivals

In the fall/winter catalog you will soon find a new series of nesting boxes for various garden animals, including a box for ladybugs. These new boxes all have a diapositive imprint in the shape of the animal for which the box is intended, each with its own color roof. So you offer a colorful collection of (nesting) boxes with which you can help several garden animals to their own place.

By the way, did you know that the ladybug is not the only one that eats aphids? Other insects such as the earwig and the lacewing can also lend a hand. Read more about our newest insect hotels here.