24 May 2026

Customer question – Ladybird Larvae or Adults for aphids?

Q. “Hello, I have aphids on four newly-planted roses in my garden and have been advised to buy ladybirds to stop them. I’ve never done this before so don’t know what I need. Should I buy live ladybirds or larvae? The roses are outside so obviously the ladybirds might fly away so any advice you can give me would be gratefully received. Thanks!” Marcus by email

A. Thanks for the message and where you have an aphid problem I would always recommend the larvae as you get more for your money, they are easier to release and wont just fly away. The 50 x Ladybird Larvae come with 5 paper release bags so you can easily split these between you 4 roses.

If you have lots of aphids it is best to wash as many aphids away i.e. blast them off with a hosepipe (this will wash them off the plants onto the ground and they normally cannot pick themselves up) before releasing the larvae as if there are too many aphids they will breed faster then the ladybird larvae can eat them. I hope this helps. Kind regards Jon @ Green Gardener

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