Ladybug Plants

Herbs

• Ladybugs are attracted to a variety of herbs when they are in bloom. These herbs include dill, angelica, cilantro, fennel, celery, caraway and tansy. Ladybugs have small mouths which makes it difficult for them to obtain nectar from many plants. The nectar inside of the types of flowers these herbs make is easily accessible to them. Often they will lay their eggs on the undersides of these herbs. The eggs usually hatch within a months time. This is why it is a good idea to look under the leaves of herbs for signs of insect eggs before harvesting them.

Weeds

• Wild carrot, dandelion, lambsquaters and clover are some of the weeds that ladybugs prefer when they are in bloom. Weed killer and other chemicals affect ladybugs and either kill them or chase them off. When setting up your yard to encourage beneficial insects such as ladybugs to take up residence, do away with chemicals and set aside a small corner where weeds can grow. Allow them to flower and set seed. The seeds will spread throughout the rest of your yard, however it is easy to prevent them from taking over by mowing or weed eating the areas where you do not want them to establish.

Vegetables

• Parsnips, legumes and cabbage are preferred vegetables. Legumes include beans and peas. Some ladybugs will actually eat the plants, especially if there is not an alternate food source. Allow a few of these vegetables to go to seed. This will provide a food source for the ladybugs as well as seeds that you can save and sow the following year. The real advantage to encouraging ladybugs to take up residence among your vegetables is they are likely to eat potential pests before they have a chance to damage the crops you are growing.

Other Ladybug Plants

• Spirea, buckwheat, cosmos, coreopsis, scented geraniums and yarrow are other types of flowering plants that ladybugs are drawn to. Ladybugs seem especially attracted to white cosmos and best of all these flowering annuals will self-sow in the garden. An annual flower grows, flowers, sets seed and dies in one growing season, however it is possible that the seed they drop will germinate and grow the following spring.