Introducing ladybugs to your yard helps control aphid populations which can cause stress and damage to your trees. Over its lifetime, a single ladybug will eat at least 2,400 aphids.
Most residents experience aphid problems and don't even know it. A sure sign of aphids is the gooey sap you find on your car when it's parked under a tree. That's aphid honeydew, and it can attract wasps and ants. If aphids are not available, ladybug larvae will eat honeydew, young plant bugs and small caterpillars. Adults will eat scales, mealy bugs, and spider mites.
Each summer, the City releases thousands of ladybugs to help control the aphid population. In 2018, we released over 500,000 in our city.