If you have aphids then lady bugs are the best thing that can happen to you.

No, these are the next level. The aphids are all over the tree, and the ladybugs that follow them are invasive. The orange ladybugs are killing out the red ones. I forget the details, and the articles do not say how to get rid of either of them. When they attacked a few years ago, the benches and tables around our yard were coated with honeydew. We had a huge problem with ants. These are not aphids that generally get on roses. They are larger and white.

I really hope you do not get them.

In organic gardening, lady bugs are always a positive thing as they eat many pest insects. Sometimes gardeners freak out when there's lots of lady bugs, but the lady bugs are there because there are pests there for them to eat. The lady bugs are not the problem----they are a symptom that you have a pest problem and they have come there to take care of it for you. I think you must be referring to the imported Asian lady bugs? They still should be eating aphids. Ladybugs are beneficial and most years they control all the aphids for me. There are many kinds and colors of aphids----green, white, black, red, pink, orangeish-yellow, etc. I always am happy when the lady bugs show up because I know they'll take care of whatever pest insect population exists at the time, particularly in spring.

In my garden, lady bugs, whether the native ones or the imported Asian ones (we have ladybugs in all colors, including orange, orange-red, black and sometimes even pink) , eat all the aphids. It isn't an overnight thing. First the aphid population spikes, and then a few weeks later the lady bug population goes up a great deal too. Lady bugs don't lay eggs until there is a plentiful food source, so their population doesn't soar until the mama lady bugs see that there's enough pests around to feed their babies....and then they lay the eggs. So, in early to mid-spring it always seems like the aphids are winning, but eventually the lady bugs do win out.

When trying to control a garden pest, I always start with the safest and most narrow spectrum form of control and then escalate step by step to other methods. WIth aphids, if you repeatedly hit them with a sharp stream of water (I set my water nozzle to "jet" for a strong blast of water that knocks them off the foliage), you'll dislodge them. Be sure to hit the undersides of the leaves where most of them will be found. I might have to do that for 3 to 5 days in a row but eventually they get tired of it and move on elsewhere. If that doesn't work, I wait for the lady bugs. If it is a year where the lady bugs seem in short supply, and if I'm not seeing a plentiful population of other beneficial insects that prey upon aphids (green lacewings and hoverflies are two examples of other beneficial insects that eat aphids) I buy some and release them. That is a rare occurrence though as I grow many flowers with tiny flowers specifically to attract the beneficial insects so they'll come to our garden frequently and eat pests while they are there. If the lady bugs and other beneficial insects fly away and won't stay, I might spray the plants (particularly the undersides of the leaves) with soap or with neem oil. I've only had to do that about once every 5-7 years.

I've also had success in bad aphid years by spraying the infested plants with a commercial garlic spray. I think the name of the one I buy is Garlic Barrier. You also can spray with an insecticidal soap product.

If they are getting on your trees and shrubs, you can spray those with a horticultural oil. I prefer to use the more lightweight superfine ones sold as a summer oil once plants have leafed out. The heavier horticultural oils are fine to use in winter when plants are dormant but I won't use them once plants have leafed out.

Another thing to keep in mind is to limit the use of fertilizers with high nitrogen levels if you happen to use them. Plants fed excess nitrogen produce more carbs and those excess carbs attract many pest insects.

Hope this helps.