My tomato has brownish red aphids and I was smashing them by hand until I seen a mummified aphid and I ceased and left the rest to the wasp larvae that will soon hatch. Also I am sure the wasps will return and take care of my aphid problem. If I notice any of natures defenses present I let them handle the bad insects.

Yeah, I think I saw a wasp hanging about also. I'm just a little surprised because I'm out there a couple times a day looking at stuff and then in one day I find all the bugs. It's been ridiculously dry here for months and then Its rained for the last three days. Could all this moisture be helping contribute to the pest issue?

nygfan, a parasitic wasp is the size of a gnat.

In your situation, I would probably squish a few aphids but allow the ladybugs to do their job. Don't let them get the upper hand.

Yeah, i did the behind the seeds tour at Epcot and they had a few boxes set up showing us a wasp parasitizing leaf miner larvae. It was an excellent tour if anyone ever has the opportunity.

If you already have lady bugs organically, chances are that you have other natural aphid predators as well (such as lacewings, and syrphid flies). It is good policy to give those bugs a chance to build their population & control the aphids on their own, before spraying anything on the aphids. If damage becomes too severe, you might be tempted to spray... but keep in mind, once destroyed, the aphid population will rebound much more quickly than the predators.

Wasps - large ones - are perhaps one of the most overlooked aphid predators. I grow peppers in tents (for pure seed) and the aphid population can explode under the protection of the cover. Once I open the cover, though, wasps will literally swarm over those plants within a day, and quickly pick the plants clean.

DO NOTHING! No hosing off, no "safe" soap sprays ... just let the predators do their thing.

If you see bloated looking tan "aphids", you have parasitic wasps (tiny things).

And most people can recognize the ladybug larvae.

So far I've done nothing but observe. It doesn't seem to be getting worse and I'm seeing quite a few ladybugs. The plant is looking very healthy and has a bunch of flowers blooming. I'm hoping to see some cucumbers soon. My girlfriend is an elementary school teacher and as part of her curriculum, she raises praying mantis. She brought home 6 from school, would it benefit me to release them or would they also eat other predators? They're only about 1.5" long so they're still pretty small.

Praying mantises are indiscriminate predators and will eat anything they can catch. Your choice if you want to release them. I like them and encourage them but others will disagree.

Rodney