My experience with beneficial insects ..

California Rare Fruit Growers South OC Chapter is looking forward to hosting a Zoom meeting with a team member from NaturesGoodGuys, growers of Beneficial Insects, the truly organic solution to pest management in your garden or field.

NaturesGoodGuys is a family owned business located in the US. catering to the Home gardening enthusiast, even the ones with larger plots of lands.
They offer an endless supply of Beneficial Organisms of the freshest quality available today. Over the years they have developed into a “one-stop” shop for your entire Beneficial Insect needs. Their Beneficial Insects are transported and shipped all across the nation. Guaranteed Live Delivery!

For years I have personally ordered insects, and beneficial nematodes from them. Insects I have ordered have been:

Ladybugs
Praying Mantis
Nematodes HB + SC + SFto control grubs ( especially the thick white ones which become the big green beetles.
Green Lacewing
Lindorus lophanthae - Scale Control. Scale is a small black or brown bump on a plant, usually visible on a stem or branch, or at times on top of fruit.

My personal experiences have been very good.
I prefer to order early in the week to avoid additional transit time due to weekend delivery delays.

While I release 1,500 Ladybugs at a time, they eventually spread out throughout the neighborhood with some remaining in my yard.
My experiences with the Lacewings have been similar to the the Ladybugs,
When I release Praying Mantis egg sacs, I prefer to constantly monitor them to be aware when they hatch. When they hatch, I try to spread them far apart near potential food sources. The reasoning behind this is that Praying Mantis offspring will cannibalize each other and I like to maximize the number that survive,
The nematodes seem to have significantly decreased the population of the big green beetles. I prefer to apply after consistent rains when the ground is wet. I also will put holes in the ground for deeper penetration.

You may not see immediate results when applying Beneficial Insects. The most noticeable effect I had was with Lindorus lophanthae. It is a small beetle-like insect that goes after scale. It bites the scale shell, penetrating it and eating the insides and moving to the next. I had a large grapefruit tree and all the fruit was covered in scale. The top half was almost a solid brown / beige color while the bottom half was the yellow fruit color. To eat any of the grapefruit required me to scrub them with a scouring pad to remove some scales as I did not like eating when the insects would come off while cutting or spooning out the fruit flesh.

The traditional method of spraying with insecticidal soap or water with a small amount of dish soap in it was unappealing, as it required me to consistently spray for 2 to 3 years. I have better things to do.
I applied the Lindorus lophanthae throughout my tree and some other trees.
Within weeks of applying, I noticed a significant impact on the scale. A lot of fruit had dead scale on them, and removing them was easy. I could just brush off the scale husks with my hand and they would fall to the ground. I also noticed there was scale on the branches which I could not see before due to it blending with the branches color. Those were also now becoming husks easily brushed away.
Within a few months most of the scale was gone from the tree. The tree regained a lot of vigor. So I considered the Lindorus lophanthae insect a super success I could easily see.

If you know the name of the problem insect, use the search feature on the website. Search for the insect name and look through the results to choose a product for control. You may want to research the suggestions to make sure the solution is applicable to your insect and environment / time of year for maximum effectiveness.
There is also a menu to choose by common pest names

They are based in Jackson County Oregon, and they they are quick with shipping times. Transportation is great for the living creators being transported.
On my next order, I plan to try
Fly Exterminators - Fly Control
Neoseiulus californicus - for the mites on some of my avocado leaves.
Possible Feltiella acarisuga but more pricey. I have to decide if needed.

https://www.naturesgoodguys.com

If you do endup ordering from them, feel free to send them an email by the email address on their contact us page with the subject CRFG to encourage them to participate in a zoom meeting on beneficial insects. That would be posted on our events meetings page.

Frank Wagoner

California Rare Fruit Growers

South OC Chapter

https://southoccrfg.org/

Patent organization https://crfg.org/