Keeping ladybugs alive over winter in a greenhouse

[Arielphf]

Hi everyone,

The past two years, I've kept my greenhouse going over winter to support my potted plants and to get an early jump on the garden plants. Both years I've had a horrible problem with aphids on my seedlings! I've tried soap and ladybugs, but the soap is temporary and the ladybugs either die or leave the greenhouse when the vent window opens.

The greenhouse is insulated and has a heater in it, but I can only really afford to keep it from going below 45° and I suspect that's what's killing the ladybugs. Is there something you can do to give the ladybugs a chance in an overwintering greenhouse? I tried a grow mat that keeps the soil to 70° but they didn't seem to use it. Someone else told me to use a light bulb, but that's almost too hot, isn't it?

The ladybugs work, but until I can find a way to keep them alive, I don't want to invest in more. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[OursIsTheFury]

I think that's just the way of nature though. Winter, spring, summer, fall, it's the cycle of nature all year round, and I don't think you can artificially create an environment that can fully replicate seasons, and would lead to the survival of your ladybugs. Maybe you can try some solutions, but they all need you to invest on a large scale heater for the whole greenhouse to sustain the life of the bugs, and even give them a replicated environment that they can thrive in. But since you said you wouldn't want to invest more, I don't think there's anything you can do at this point.