Pests

I have an aphid infestation. So far, it is not too bad in the sense that they have not taken over EVERY plant, but they seem to be targeting the black mangroves and the rare tea mangrove. NOT GOOD. Plant-eating aphids = my enemies, particularly when they are my research plants. Gardeners have tricks like spraying them with a hose (didn't work) and spraying them with soapy water or even pesticides, but I don't want to apply that stuff and inadvertently mess with my seedlings' growth. Enter the biological control: ladybugs. Garden stores sell ladybugs as a natural pest control. There are a bunch of different species of ladybugs (which are really beetles, for you non-entomologists out there), and some eat aphids and some eat leaves and some eat mildew or bacteria, so I am just assuming that the garden store sells the kind that eat aphids. However, it turns out that garden stores around here don't sell aphids. It is actually easier for me to order them online from Home Depot and have them shipped, because the closest ladybug store is an hour's drive away. So in a few days, I will release ladybugs onto my plants and hope they get the job done. In the meantime, I will be crushing aphids with my fingers, unless a hurricane gets to them first.