They are available in larger nurseries and are sold in containers or netting. If you are not using them right away they can be refrigerated (the bugs go into a hibernation due to the cold) but NOT FROZEN. Next, take them out of the fridge and keep them in a cool spot in your yard-- a covered patio, below a tree. Generally you can put them out and sprinkle them under the base of the roses in the evening when the sun is not so intense. More experienced people can open the container and with a small stick-- allow the ladybug to climb onto the stick and then transfer the insect to the food source directly. Yes, some will walk the opposite direction of the food but at least they will be on the plant. You can also release them on an overcast day too at the base of the plant that has the aphids.. Now one important thing-- there is a food source (some sort of cotton with some food they eat inside the container and the wood shavings) Its important to spritz the container or the netting with cool water every so many days-- even if they are in the fridge too. Do not soak them just a spritz of water -- they need the water also to survive. If they do fly away, it just means they are searching for a food source-- they like aphids, but they can fly elsewhere (like the aphids do too). I find usually the aphids are greenish on the roses but they can come in other colors too-- black or brown colors (sort of blending in with whatever plant they are on.) My Dad has a mock orange that gets covered on the stems with the black variety. Ladybugs to the rescue on that plant too.

Yeah, I hate to spray because of birds, etc. I keep it to a minimum. As for treating the grass for grubs, etc.--we are mowing five acres, and are surrounded by acres and acres of hayfields. I assume that the grubs grow in the hayfields as well as our lawn--right? I put the traps about 100 feet up wind from the most sensitive trees. Last year one of my three baldcypress trees was also completly defoliated (I watered it all late summer and fall and it grew back a lot of foliage and seems OK now), and another was half defoliated. The third, much the strongest, was not attacked significantly. These beetles sense which trees are the weakest and go after them like lions hunting prey in Africa? Anyway, as for the baldcypress this year--I have given them a light spray and placed beetle traps upwind, and so far they have lost no foliage that I can see. One strange thing is the beetles love to attack two DED resistant elm trees I got from the Elm Research Institute (I think that is the right name), but they don't attack volunteer elm seedlings and saplings that will die soon anyway. These beetles are real bastards and will do anything to frustrate our best intentions. --Spruce

Hi there Karyn, looks to me as if your large plumie has some sort of virus that is making the leaves deform if it is, have you got 2 like this or is it 2 pics of the same plant....have they come from the same seeds/cuttings? I hope that it wouldn't spread to your other plants. I would keep it well away...but it does look interesting and quite weird! As for the one with the spiral leaf, we get bugs over in the UK that do this, they are tiny and roll the leaf round like this for protection, personally, I would cut it off and have a peek inside....if you dare! <: o>Oh, by the way, if my memory of our Biology/Botany lessons (my favourite) serves me correctly, cotyledons are the 'seed leaves' of a plant, most produce 2 (dicotyledons), others have 1 (monocotyledons), they are the very first leaves that a plant produces and are usually thicker and do not normally resemble the plants 'true' leaves at all. Hope this helps? After leaving school a FEW years ago...I now realise some of it must have indeed sank in and remained there for future use!! hahaha! Best wishes to you and the 'freaky plumies', Greenclaws.

It is about dragging it out and hoping we lose interest or run out of money. It is sooooo expensive. It annoys us to no end to have to keep shelling out money for crap like this. Honestly, if everyone would just do the right thing, try to abide by the Golden Rule and be responsible adults, then court would (rarely) be necessary. The attorney called today and said she received a letter from the GAL, copied to both attornies, basically stating he is displeased with how the eval. went down, and he considers it useless. He is dismissing the order of protection (for SS) which we expected. He is recommending that BM sign a statement saying she will not drink when he is with her, and that she will re-do eval. at her expense. Well, off the bat, we know she will not sign the statement agreeing not to drink. Our attorney even said "if I were her attorney, I would not let her sign it." Basically, it sets BM up to fail and could certainly cause her to lose custody. So--we will ask her to sign, but know she won't. It all really comes down to the judge now. We really need our GAL to push this issue hardcore and MAKE BM repeat the eval. the right way. If he doesn't, or BM refuses, then it really will be up to the judge to decide. Our attorney is talking about filing a motion to modify for supervised visits if she refuses to do the eval. I hope it doesn't come down to that....that will be like doing another court case all over again, and our attorney said we would be looking at at least another 3-4K. AUUGHHHH. I am really just trying to let go and trust it will all work out at this point. Everything has in the past. The original custody/school district case was so expensive, and time consuming and we felt so frustrated for much of it---and what do you know, DH wound up getting residential custody! It all worked out in the end and hopefully this will, too!