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Costco

Praying Mantis Natural insect control $19.99

  • Last Updated:
  • Jun 23rd, 2020 3:56 pm
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May 28th, 2020 8:35 am
WiseOx [OP]
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Mar 19, 2004
1194 posts
291 upvotes
Whitby, ON

May 28th, 2020 8:35 am

[Costco] Praying Mantis Natural insect control $19.99

We’re all going to be stuck in hanging out in our backyards this summer, so why not have a Mantis army at your feet?

I got this a few years ago, when posted on RFD. Kids got a kick out of it, worth the $20 of amusement, though we only saw 3-4 (not the 40-400 per the ad). I recall others had better luck.

Edit...additional info...
per fusack's post below, looks like some have an option to buy cheaper from Home Depot. For me it shows as Unavailable in my area, so YMMV. fusak mentioned Costco ships via UPS which some have experienced delays with orders. I wasn't aware of UPS delays, but something to consider.

Home Depot is selling them $15.98 so I ordered 2 with free site to store pickup.
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/prayin ... 1000700318
Last edited by WiseOx on May 28th, 2020 12:11 pm, edited 4 times in total.
80 replies
May 28th, 2020 8:46 am
Dave98
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Sep 10, 2005
5367 posts
3060 upvotes
GTA

May 28th, 2020 8:46 am

Ah yes, the annual mantis thread. I might actually try it this time around out of boredom.
+15
May 28th, 2020 9:08 am
springrain
Sr. Member
May 8, 2016
785 posts
1834 upvotes

May 28th, 2020 9:08 am

Will this become a multi year mantis colony in one’s garden?
+3
May 28th, 2020 9:11 am
juve4lfe
Sr. Member
Feb 27, 2010
758 posts
391 upvotes

May 28th, 2020 9:11 am

I don’t get it...u don’t like bugs and flies in your yard so u put more potentially bigger ones in there?
+9
May 28th, 2020 9:16 am
krishnasty
Jr. Member
Mar 21, 2015
183 posts
109 upvotes
Toronto

May 28th, 2020 9:16 am

juve4lfe wrote: ↑ I don’t get it...u don’t like bugs and flies in your yard so u put more potentially bigger ones in there?
I guess its about choosing something that you dislike less. between mosquitoes and mantis, I would pick mantis anyday
+2
May 28th, 2020 9:17 am
Bencherstyle
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Nov 9, 2008
3154 posts
1335 upvotes
Thornhill

May 28th, 2020 9:17 am

do you kill these when you mow the lawn or what..?
+6
May 28th, 2020 9:19 am
fusack
Jr. Member
Nov 24, 2009
158 posts
236 upvotes
Cornwall, ON

May 28th, 2020 9:19 am

I must have missed this in previous years as this looks awesome. The Kids will love it, I'll try the paper bag so the kids could see them before releasing them! Does anyone have any recommendations other than what is in the instructions?

Home Depot is selling them $15.98 so I ordered 2 with free site to store pickup.
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/prayin ... 1000700318

Also considering that Costco may ship via UPS and my shipment from a few weeks ago was delays for 9 days with UPS I'm not eager to order unless it's a great deal.
+10
May 28th, 2020 9:19 am
boonjaca
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Nov 15, 2005
4337 posts
2150 upvotes

May 28th, 2020 9:19 am

I got this a couple of times and they never hatched even though I followed the instructions. I was pretty sad since I really wanted to see them.
+2
May 28th, 2020 9:26 am
powderpiggy
Newbie
Dec 31, 2016
30 posts
53 upvotes

May 28th, 2020 9:26 am

I had one last year. I kept it in the house because the family wanted to see the action. It took almost a month, but about 50 of them came out. Fortunately, we were there to see it and quickly put the case outside. It probably took less than 10 minutes for the entire hatching. Had we been out at the time, I would have ended up with them inside my house.

Worth noting that if you keep the eggs in a container, and the insects hatch without a food source, they'll start eating each other.

One other point, after the hatching was complete, the egg case looked the same. So, it's really likely that you could buy one of these, miss the hatching, and never know if you bought a dud.

Lastly, I haven't seen a sign of them since. I have a large yard and they're tough to see at the best of times.
+23
May 28th, 2020 9:29 am
neutral
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Aug 25, 2005
7180 posts
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May 28th, 2020 9:29 am

After reading some of the negative reviews on this product, I thought I'd tell your about our experience, as it may help you to be successful with the egg casing and babies. First of all, be patient; it takes a long time for the casing to hatch. Do not hatch outside, as the babies will march out and be promptly eaten by other, larger insects and birds before you even get to see that they hatched. Hatch in an old aquarium with a lid or a large jar. We were lucky enough to see our egg casing hatch and got literally hundreds of the babies! I do not recommend releasing them right away as previously mentioned, as they will be smaller than the other insects in your yard and will likely get eaten. We transferred groups of the babies into separate jars with a large twig in each, and fed them pinhead crickets for a few weeks...(this reduced cannibalism and made the babies grow fairly quickly). We only set them free on our plants once they were a reasonable size and the weather had warmed #Calgary). We had some huge mantises by the end of the summer and are ordering again this year. Good luck!
Good review on how to get better results.
+13
May 28th, 2020 9:29 am
djdestroyer
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Jul 10, 2014
3451 posts
1599 upvotes
Ottawa, ON

May 28th, 2020 9:29 am

I bought a single mantis few years ago to help with protecting the garden. I loved it but found him like twice all summer as they're extremely hard to see.
Last edited by djdestroyer on May 28th, 2020 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
+1
May 28th, 2020 9:30 am
HamsiBrain
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Aug 21, 2008
1616 posts
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Hamilton

May 28th, 2020 9:30 am

Please consider few things before buying/applying mantis on your garden.

1. Their origin (North American, vs Chinese, Anatolian, etc).
2. Do you have bee colonies, hummingbirds, etc?
3. Do you use pesticides and other chemicals?

It's been reported Chinese are larger than North Americans, e.g. Carolinas, and may be harmful to bee colonies.
+8
May 28th, 2020 9:36 am
snailium
Member
Jan 15, 2010
492 posts
276 upvotes

May 28th, 2020 9:36 am

Costco uses UPS to deliver packages. And my local UPS warehouse is overwhelmed, packages delay for 3-4 weeks.

Maybe I'll order one and let it hatch in UPS warehouse.
+20
May 28th, 2020 9:39 am
platinumtiger19
Sr. Member
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May 22, 2012
834 posts
459 upvotes
Toronto

May 28th, 2020 9:39 am

Will these things kill whatever bug is destroying our roses every year?
May 28th, 2020 9:41 am
TwistedKestrel
Jr. Member
Jan 20, 2011
160 posts
116 upvotes
Toronto

May 28th, 2020 9:41 am

Would the CFIA even let companies import insects from other countries?
By Grabthar's Hammer, what a savings
+2
May 28th, 2020 9:47 am
Sopranos
Sr. Member
Jan 27, 2007
873 posts
290 upvotes
Calgary

May 28th, 2020 9:47 am

I went through this a couple of years ago. Followed the instructions that I found online, put a small branch in a jar with a damp paper towel on the bottom. poke small holes in a jar lid. So, as mentioned they just started hatching and luckily we were home. it was very cool to see that.
I released them into the backyard as instructed, into my garden beds...never saw any of them again, ever. on the other hand my neighbor doesn't have any insect issues anymore LOL!!!!

Similar thing happened with live ladybugs, I also bought them that same time from costco.ca, they hatched, released per instructions (and I had easily 700+) - never saw them again :)
+1
May 28th, 2020 10:20 am
boyohboy
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Dec 6, 2006
5607 posts
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Toronto

May 28th, 2020 10:20 am

Do it really help with reducing swamps of mosquitoes?
May 28th, 2020 10:22 am
smellykiwi
Newbie
Oct 11, 2016
45 posts
13 upvotes

May 28th, 2020 10:22 am

Very interested in trying this thing out! for those that have tried it,when you release them do you release in garden or grass? And do you risk killing them when you mow lawn?

Also would they bite or anything when kids walk around in the grass?
May 28th, 2020 10:35 am
mc_molineux
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Dec 26, 2006
3277 posts
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May 28th, 2020 10:35 am

HamsiBrain wrote: ↑ Please consider few things before buying/applying mantis on your garden.

1. Their origin (North American, vs Chinese, Anatolian, etc).
2. Do you have bee colonies, hummingbirds, etc?
3. Do you use pesticides and other chemicals?

It's been reported Chinese are larger than North Americans, e.g. Carolinas, and may be harmful to bee colonies.
The Home Depot link posted here says they are "Tenodera aridifolia sinensis".

Wikipedia says:

The Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) is a species of mantis native to Asia and the nearby islands. In 1896 this species was accidentally introduced by a nurseryperson at Mt. Airy near Philadelphia, United States. Tenodera sinensis often is erroneously referred to as Tenodera aridifolia sinensis
+3
May 28th, 2020 10:42 am
HDawg
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Apr 30, 2006
3447 posts
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Markham

May 28th, 2020 10:42 am

Praying mantis' will also eat honey bees, so keep this in mind if you have a lot of flowers. As much as I'd like to deal with other pests, I wouldn't want to harm bees.

Wasps, aphids, mosquitoes and others can all F off.
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