qualia Posted April 18, 2012 i helped a little spider onto my TBM today he seemed to be settling in quite nicely last i checked, will he help protect from any mealy's or aphids which might seek to make residence? i have spiders on almost all my cacti, they're cool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef's Foreskin Posted April 18, 2012 I know ladybug's eat aphids...... I know some spider's eat the eggs of mealy bugs.... By my guess the more bugs besides infectual bugs the better! RF Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazonian Posted April 18, 2012 Small spiders will eat the aphids for sure. Cute little things those wee jumping spiders with their huge sets of eyes. The jumping spiders are also good as they don't build a web to catch the insects, so there is no unsightly dust collector. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted April 18, 2012 Will be good to find out cause any jumping or non jumping spiders I find I put them on my cacti Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnnyzero64 Posted April 18, 2012 Praying mantis are carnivores too. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qualia Posted April 18, 2012 ^^ but i have none of them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
space cadet swami Posted April 18, 2012 I tried to put a small praying mantis on my plants yesterday...we both had different ideas of where he/she was going. He was eating an ant at the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted April 19, 2012 (edited) Small spiders will eat the aphids for sure. Cute little things those wee jumping spiders with their huge sets of eyes. The jumping spiders are also good as they don't build a web to catch the insects, so there is no unsightly dust collector. I love that pic Amz My kids get a look like that on their faces when I catch them doing something they know they shouldn't. I call it "The caught with the hand in the bicky tin look" That spider even looks like he has a biscuit in his grasp (sort of). Edited April 19, 2012 by SallyD 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef's Foreskin Posted April 19, 2012 Hahaa that picture is awsome! I never thought I would say a spider looked cute, but there ya go RF Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted April 19, 2012 ladybug and their larvae, praying mantis, assassin bugs and lacewing larvae are the main beneficial insects i don't think spiders make any serious difference. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qualia Posted April 19, 2012 hmm, well, how can i attract those beneficial insects? i imagine spiders would attack a good majority of those? esp. lady bugs? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted April 19, 2012 i dunno about spiders eating them, those insects i mentioned are all quite formidable. googling 'how to attract beneficial insects' returned a lot of useful-looking results. the obvious first step is to stop using insecticides or use them very carefully. learn to ID lacewing eggs/larvae, ladybug larvae (which look a bit like a fast moving mealybug) and assassin bugs if you can't already, so then you can avoid disturbing them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kadakuda Posted April 19, 2012 i doubt spiders eat many mealy, but htey sure eat a lot of ants tha tfarm the mealy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites