Now that cool temperatures are finally here, we keep the big vent on the greenhouse closed. Even with netting, our fans manage to pull some small insects into the greenhouse all summer. We cannot control the greenhouse environment until it is cold outside. And now that we are closed up for winter, Every gardener hopes these relentless hunters will prowl their plants, keeping the garden free of plant pest.
Praying Mantis egg cases are easy to find on young cedar trees. Each of these has thousands of eggs waiting for warm temperatures to hatch. We hang the egg cases around the greenhouse and wait for the day our pest control helpers arrive. Though we have invited these insect helpers in for many years, never have we measured how long it takes the little mantises to hatch. This year we will be watching! Stay tuned for the conclusion of this greenhouse version of the movie “Predator”. Just be glad they are too small to hunt us!
We have tons of these casings on our cedar tree in the back yard. We had no idea what they were. We have had them for a few years now and last year I did notice the amount of Praying Mantis’s in the yard was phenomenal.
Is there something that we can do to assure that these eggs will hatch? Thank you.