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Where can I buy or acquire Preying Mantises (Manti?) for my garden?

I read that the Preying Mantis is an awesome organic pest control helper in the garden. This begs a series of questions:

1) Is it true they help with pest control?
2) Are they native to Western Washington, or can they thrive here?
4) If they are not native to WA, would it be bad to introduce some in my garden?
3) Where can I acquire some?
4) Is it Preying Mantises or Preying Manti?

Thanks!

soundslikepuget asked in Pest Control/Weeds about 1 year ago | Report

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  • Dsc_0339_small
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    Master Gardener Andrea

    Yes, you can use Praying mantis for pest control.  However, be sure you have pests for them to munch.  If they don't have a food source, they will go after each other!  (I guess they don't play well together!)

    I think the following information and sources will address your questions:

    From Clark County Extension: . . .There are over 1800 species, mostly tropical. Three are native in North America: the Chinese mantis, Tenodera sinensis, the Carolina mantis, Stagmomantis carolina and the European mantis, Mantis religiosa.. . .  The mantis, also known as mantid is most closely related to grasshoppers and cockroaches. The common name comes from the manner in which they hold up the forepart of their body, with the front legs folded as if in prayer. They range from 2 to 6 inches in length and are varying shades of brown and green.The praying mantis is strictly a meat eater who enjoys moths, beetles, horseflies, leaf hoppers, aphids, and other mantises, even animals larger than themselves, such as frogs, lizards, and young snakes. They almost always start eating their prey while still alive and go for the neck to ensure struggling stops quickly. There is but one generation per year. In the fall, females lay eggs in a large mass about one inch long (30–300 eggs), in a frothy gummy substance that glues them to tree twigs, plant stems and other objects. A few weeks after laying eggs, the mantis dies. The eggs overwinter and tiny nymphs emerge from the egg mass in the spring or early summer. Nymphs look similar to adults, only smaller and have no wings. They quickly grow eating each other until only a few remain and become one of our larger insects. Praying mantis eggs cases are now available for purchase through catalogs, on-line, and at your local nurseries. You can raise your own prehistoric-looking bugs for cultural insect pest control. http://clark.wsu.edu/volunteer/mg/gm_tips/PrayingMantis.html

    Retired King County Extension Agent, Mary Robson wrote a great article for The Seattle Times several years ago about beneficial insects and suggested contacting local nurseries--City People’s (Madison Valley), Molbak’s (Woodinville), Sky Nursery (Shoreline) or Swanson’s Nursery (NW Seattle)--or purchase on-line. Mantis’s are usually available in spring. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/homegarden/2003798223_marygarden28.html

    Ohio State University has a fact sheet about Praying mantis and includes a source for purchasing: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2154.html.

     

    Master Gardener Andrea answered in Pest Control/Weeds about 1 year ago | Report
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