Regina’s annual ladybug release offers pesticide-free solution to aphids

The ladybugs have arrived.

Regina’s Victoria Park was packed with hundreds of people on Thursday morning for the city’s annual ladybug release.

Ladybugs scatter at the base of a tree in Regina’s Victoria Park during the city’s annual ladybug release on July 18, 2019. (Joseph Ho/980 CJME)

The event was largely targeted at children, who were asked to take small plastic containers of the bugs and let them free.

“It’s a fun event. (Ladybugs) are one of the first insects they’re attracted to,” said Russell Eirich, the city’s pest manager.

Eirich said the ceremony leads to a greater appreciation for nature among kids and has become quite popular, with as many as 750 attending last year.

“We did this the first time not knowing what to expect and, basically, it just blew up,” he said.

Ladybugs are released as a way for the city to control the aphid population without using pesticides — something residents have been asking for, Eirich said.

He described aphids as being like mosquitoes to trees, chewing up their leaves while the honeydew they leave behind attracts other pests, like ants and wasps.

The ladybugs made the trip by way of California and Ontario to Regina in refrigerated containers. Thursday’s event was held at 9:30 a.m. for a reason.

“If you were to release them later in the afternoon, it’s too hot,” Eirich said.  “We release them in the cool of the morning so they can adjust to the temperature change.”