Praying Mantis = Garden Pest Control

[Pepp3rFreak]

Does anyone here use praying mantis's for their outdoor garden bug problems? I see lots of talk on how these awesome creator's are great garden dwelling bug eaters and wondered is anyone has these around? I see you can purchase mantis eggs online and think they may be a good addition to the garden.

[hector]

One thing is for sure: praying mantis love aphyds!
They are a very common insect around here, purchasing eggs would be ridiculous... but yes, they will be a GREAT addition to any garden.

[Pam]

I have not purchased them, but I sure like finding them in the garden. When I have bought insects for release, I usually have a specific bad bug I want to control, so I buy a more specific predator. Like, if I have an aphid or whitefly problem I might get some ladybugs or lacewings to give the local population a boost.

[LUCKYDOG]

CT's state insect and protected. Very cool and beneficial. My kids got a couple of eggs a couple of years ago and we released them around the yard Havent seen any come back though.... interesting watching them come out..

a tid bit of CT interest for ya

[the666bbq]

funny how you are talking about this very common (to you) insect that we have to watch national geographic channel to see a glimpse of it. We have to rely on our (two dotted) ladybugs to keep the bugs down - and now our ladybugs are being killed by bigger foreign species (asian and northern american apparently) -- hmm foreigners should focus on our beer, our chocolat and our (belgian not french) fries ;-)
but every region has its predators so out with the insecticides...