During a visit to Home Depot yesterday, we learned that they sell packages of lady bugs as a natural, organic form of pest control. While we're skeptical about their efficacy, for only $3.49, it seemed worth a shot.Until we got home to set them free, we had no idea how misconceived this idea was. The lady bugs had nothing to do with pest control. Instead, it was the best $3.49 investment in childhood amusement ever.
Helios (whose nickname is Bug or Bug Bug) adored having the not-so-creepy crawlies inch all over him. There are about 1500 to a package, and he was on a mission to find a home for each and every one. He stopped by the fledgling cauliflower plants, the youngling tomato plants, and the mature rose bushes that we have no idea how to maintain and dropped a few wherever he travelled. Several of them flew away while we were "working", and they are probably all gone by today (either onto other roosts or, eek, the meal to another creature). But, for the time they were here, Helios was all smiles.