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  • Can I release praying mantis all year?

    Created by Tonya Morgan on December 26, 2014 at 9:05 pm

    Last year I did really well with your praying mantis, the nymphs kept the aphids in check, which is my biggest problem here. Once they get bigger they seem to leave. I guess I don’t have enough larger size bugs to keep them in the garden.
    Last week I still saw some tiny ones hanging around. Here in AZ, the garden still has a bunch of stuff growing. What I found was that late summer / fall there were hardly any nymphs and the aphids were so bad I ripped out the kale, turnips, radishes and cabbage and gave up on them.

    Question: what time schedule would you recommend for setting out egg cases throughout the season? every 2- 3 weeks? How late in the summer do you still have egg cases? Can I pre-order and get them delivered on schedule through out the entire season? I would still have kale and cabbage growing if the nymphs were in the garden in Oct and Nov.

    They are really friendly too – they would climb on my sleeve while I was working and even hitch a ride into the house once in a while! Some would even take moths from my fingers.

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  • January 13, 2015 at 1:43 pm #158226

    Eric Vinje
    Keymaster

    Tonya –

    Praying mantis are in stock and shipping now. However, because they are gathered over the winter — not raised in insectaries — it’s difficult to stagger releases late into the growing season. The longer they are kept in storage — the higher the mortailty rate will be. We recommend getting them into your garden as soon as you can!

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