How to Make a Ladybird and Lacewing Lodge
Ladybirds and lacewings are the gardeners’ friend, not only because they are so pretty, but also because they help us by eating the aphids, greenfly and blackfly that suck the juices out of our plants and spread plant diseases. You can welcome adult ladybirds and lacewings into your garden and keep them there by providing them with a warm, dry place to spend the winter. Put the lodge out in summer so that your ladybirds and lacewings know where to find it when they need it.
You will need:
-
A large tin with one end neatly cut away
-
Several pieces of bamboo cane, about as tall as the tin
-
A selection of thin, hollow twigs
-
Heavy-duty scissors
-
​
Method
-
Fill the tin with lengths of bamboo. They don’t all need to be the same size but they shouldn’t stick out much beyond the rim of the tin.
-
Push the twigs into the hollows between the bamboo canes. Let some of them stick out a bit so that the ladybirds and lacewings have somewhere to land.
-
Push the lodge securely into an evergreen hedge or a dense shrub and leave it undisturbed. Tip it slightly downwards so no water collects in the tin when it rains.
