i have not bought those but have a population of them each year in my garden. if you don't see any, perhaps you could "seed" the yard with the eggs to get them established.
you probably also need to defer from using insecticides as this will allow them to get a better start.
when i did that, the yard seemed to return to a balance of good predators that i did not see when i sprayed regularly.

I found a female Praying Mantis on a tennis court a couple years ago..I transplanted her to my rose garden..At the time I was having emense problems with Japanese beetles...
I do not have any Japanese beetles on my roses anymore. I do have a family of praying mantis' now..

Remember if you are going to find one...That they BITE HARD.
be careful.

Downfall of Praying Mantis is that they also eat butterflies, small birds,(hummingbirds)and frogs..

In my back yard I put up bird houses and feeders to attract more birds to my yard. I have horses which attract flies...BUT have NO flies, and NO Mosquitos. I swear the birds are controlling the fly and mosquito population in my yard.

I'm on the other side of the fence with this,lol! Though praying mantids are fascinating creatures, I don't welcome them in my gardens! I am absolutely loaded with pollinating insects of all kinds, predatory beetles, beneficial parasitic insects.......praying mantids get dispatched to my neighbor's purple plums where they can eat all of the JBs and other pests they want to.

Huh?

They bite hard and eat birds and frogs?! Ms. Mantis...just when I thought I knew ye....

Are you sure you have praying mantises or have you tilled your way into Jurassic Garden?

If anyone has way too many mantids and would like to rid themselves of them, please make a deal with me for the Spring '06 Plant Swap.

From Colorado State University...

Praying Mantis eat birds, frogs, turtles, lizards and insects, and each other...

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/courses/en507/papers_1999/feldman.htm

From The bird watchers digest...Picture of a praying mantis eating a humming bird.

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyardbirds/hummingbirds/mantis-hummer.aspx

Remember, there are many species of praying mantids. The Chinese mantis is very large. And I can personally attest to the fact that they bite like crazy. But the real reason that I don't want them in my yard is that they do more harm than good.

Here is a link that might be useful: More mantid information

Those picture's on the Bird Watcher's Digest have upset me..It shows the Praying Mantis impaling the poor Hummingbird with it's front claws..I would rather have swarms of Japanese Beetles then have one of my Humming Birds killed like that..

I keep my Humming Bird Feeders away from the area where the Mantis' are BUT I cannot take the chance of something like that happening. GROSSSSSS!!!!

The original Mantis' that I planted was big like the one pictured..

Sooooo does anybody know how to get rid of Praying Mantis???

I am assuming that simple insect spray will work.

Nelson: I am going to TRY to come to the swap...If I can catch one or more. I will bring you Praying Mantis'...I read some MORE information about them. They can actually be kept as pets and fed raw meat scraps (www.buglogical.com)so I could do that to make sure they stay alive til you can transplant them.

I am FREAKED about the Mantis eating the Humming Bird pictures..So I think I want to get rid of mine.

If you have any Native Alabama Wildflowers to trade that is what I will be looking for. Link to pictures of Alabama Wildflowers..I am interested in any of the wild iris, but would be happy with any Native Wildflowers.

http://www.duc.auburn.edu/~deancar/index.html

This I got to see! My kids will be fascinated.
Michelle

i think that line of thinking is a bit reactionary. you have no japanese beetles because of praying mantis predation and now want them back for fear of losing a hummingbird to a mantis? i seriously doubt you will ever witness a mantis take a hummer in real life. that is probably a once-in-a-lifetime film documentation for the average gardener. if that were an everyday occurence, we would likely be deplete of hummingbirds, butterflys and frogs.
watch out, they may take small children and pets next! :-)

Sheesh, I totally agree with Jeff! Spraying insecticides to get rid of a couple of these insects is irresponsible. If you are worried about such an extremely rare event, be sure to hang your feeders well away from any plant material. Problem solved.

I suggest that you simply place your mantids in some area where you observe plenty of pest insect activity and let them do their thing. They aren't some sort of blood thirsty creature that needs to be feared.

I do dislike Japanese Beetles..Before I planted the Mantis the beetles almost killed my roses with their munching..The Mantis' do completely control that problem without me having to spray chemicals...In spraying chemicals I would not only kill the Mantis but every other insect in the area...I would guess that the Mantis' have plenty of beetles to eat so maybe they won't be hungry enough to try to catch a hummingbird. Okay you are right; I will keep them. I do keep my Hummingbird feeders away from the rose garden already so I will just keep it that way.

I do intent to try to get to the plant swap. I will try to catch a few Mantis' and bring them..Last year I had quite a few mantis' so I should have enough to share..

Don't forget that you can't transport them in the same box :-0 (eeekkk)

This has been the best thread :-)
I'll take a JB-hungry mantis if you have an extra. I don't spray my yard at all. Hopefully the neighbor's Chemlawn won't affect the insects in mine.
Michelle

I am saving Jars..(Maybe Plastic containers would be better) I do save the 1 quart plastic containers from Chinese food, I eat a lot of Hot Sour Soup...So I have enough to keep them separate...I know I had at least 15 last year...So I should have more this year as long as they do not eat each other before I catch them..I do not need 15; my rose garden is not that big..
I was remembering HOW HORRIFYING, distructive and annoying the Japanese Beetles were. I am so happy about my Praying Mantis' now.. (SMILE) garden forum therapy...