Are You Seeing Ladybug Infestations or Asian Lady Beetles?
Everyone knows what ladybugs look like, they are the adorable little red bug with black spots. Adorable that is, until you find yourself with a ladybug infestation. One ladybug, cute. Hundreds of ladybugs…not so cute. We’re currently seeing a huge infestation on our house in Massachusetts.
Why you might not know is the bugs that you are calling ladybugs aren’t actually ladybugs at all, they are multi-colored Asian Lady Beetles that look like ladybugs. But these Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetles do one thing that our cute ladybugs don’t…they swarm. What causes this and what can be done about swarming ladybugs?
I’ve explained that these bugs that look an awful lot like our beloved ladybug is actually the Multi-colored Asian Lady beetle but there are some differences. Our ladybugs are bright red with black spots. The Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetles range from pale orange to dark orange and come with or without spots. The other notable difference between the ladybug and the Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle is the fact that the latter hibernates for the winter. There in lies the problem.
Lady Beetle Hibernation Leads To Swarms Of Lady Beetles
Since the Asian Lady Beetle hibernates, they try to find themselves an appropriate place for this come Fall. Their usual hibernation spots would include mountain faces and areas with cracked rock. Since rock is usually gray or light in color you will notice that the Lady Beetle will be attracted to lighter color houses and cars.
Around the end of October, Lady Beetles begin to look for places to spend the cold winter. They begin to swarm onto light colored houses and buildings looking for cracks that they can get into to spend the winter months hibernating. They are not dangerous, just annoying. I’m looking out my window right now and there is not one place that I look that I don’t see the Lady Beetles flying around.
More than just swarming on the outside of the house, the Lady Beetles work their way into houses through cracks or rips in screens. Before you know it you could have an entire inside window or wall full of Lady Beetles.
Dealing With A Lady Beetle Infestation
There is no magic solution to this problem. There are however a few things that you can do to try and deal with the swarms of Lady Beetles that are mounting on your home.
- Use Your Water Hose – if you happen to walk outside and notice that once side of your home is covered with the Lady Beetles…turn on your garden hose. Spray them off of your house before they can work their way inside your home.
- Seal Up Cracks and Spaces Around Your Windows And Doors – Although no ones home is airtight, it does help if you try and seal up the larger cracks and spaces around your windows and doors. It is these very cracks and spaces that the Lady Beetle utilizes to work their way into your home.
- Use Your Vacuum Cleaner – I have done this! If those little Lady Beetles do find a breach security and make their way into your home, they will have a tendency to stay in a group. What better way than to wipe out this group than by vacuuming them up. Just make sure you dispose of the bag outside or you pretty much make the whole effort null and void.
- Just Deal With It – the Lady Beetle infestation will happen about once per year…just deal with it. If you have used all of the techniques above and you are still having a problem with the Lady Beetles, what can you do except deal with it?
- Until the 1960′s there were no Lady Beetles in the United States, they were brought in as a way of controlling agricultural pests that eat things such as pecans and apples.
- As a defense against predators the Lady Beetles secrete a foul smelling, yellow fluid from their leg joints. Humans would most likely only smell this fluid when there are swarms of the Lady Beetles secreting it at once.
- Lady Beetles are attracted to illuminated surfaces such as the side of a house which is in the sun. They also are attracted to lighter colored house trim or the gutters of a home.
- They do not reproduce once they find a home for the winter (that’s a relief). The Lady Beetles you may see leaving your home in the Spring are the same little suckers which found their way in, in the Fall.
Some Facts About The Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle
Since the only thing I knew about the ladybug before researching this topic was that if you killed one it would rain the next day…I figured I would list some facts about the infamous Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle.
So there you are, just a few fun facts about our friend the Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle. Like I said they are only around for a few days during the Fall so the most common sense thing would be just to deal with them. Hey, have you ever noticed a Ladybug in your home during the winter…wonder how that got there?
ladybug infestation (10020) bugs that look like ladybugs (1738) beetles that look like ladybugs (1019) ladybug swarm (874) asian beetle vs ladybug (769) ladybug infestation in house (640) lady bug infestation (604) ladybug look alikes (552) ladybugs infestation (491) ladybug vs asian beetle (445) ladybug swarms (438) why do ladybugs swarm (383) asian lady beetle vs ladybug (373) ladybug infestations (306) asian beetles vs ladybugs (299) infestation of ladybugs (267) bugs that look like lady bugs (227) ladybug look alike (225) ladybug infestation causes (223) look like ladybugs (212)
About sucking Asian lady beetles into a vacuum cleaner, it would appear that the heat and air flow would tend to dessicate them pretty quickly. Continuing to use the vacuum cleaner for a few minutes would expose the group to more airflow,let the heat build up, and add dust that would compete for moisture.
Have you tried this and verified they tend to survive the vacuum cleaner experience?
Nick
Regarding sucking lady beetles into a vacuum cleaner: I’ve found that putting some mothballs into the vacuum cleaner bag helps kill of any insects (not just lady beetles but fleas from pets, as well) who get sucked into the vacuum cleaner. The house may smell like moth balls after vacuuming but it should help keep pests a bit more under control.
Hi,
We live in the country b(Toano, VA) near Williamsburg and for the past two or three weeks we are getting a bug similar to a Lady Buy but different in color. It;s yellow with black dots and almost a “V: in the middle of it’s back,
Can’t find it on line.
We’ve looked every place including beetles.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Don Aspinall
Hey, answering Don’s question about the bugs with the V on the back, I’m not positive but they sound like the Box Elder Beetle. They live in the Box trees around your house, and in the fall tend to migrate into your warm abode. We have those as well as lady bugs, and we just constantly spray the whole house with bug spray, inside and out.
I have a ton of the bugs with a V on their backs at my house in the Country too. Try google’n Brown Stinkbugs & see if the picture matches to the bug you have at your home. It took me a long time to I.D this pest, but finally recently did through the images on Google.
HELP!!!!!
My living room has been overun. I am seeing spots everywhere. I have tried the sealing, the vaccumm, the smaking, the flicking and even the Raid.
I am at my wits end. My grandson has eaten them and brought them to me. I need either mental help to deal or find a new house. Since the latter is toooo expensive, anyone with mental help available would be appreciated.
In California we do not have this issue, now in Kentucky I am finding I would rather not deal with obnoxious with these darn critters.
Help.
thanks,
margaret
Hi Margaret
Are you still having this problem?
I’m interested in finding out more to possibly feature in an Animal Planet documentary called ‘Extreme Infestations’
We are a production company called Darlow Smithson Productions based in London, UK, and we’ve been commissioned to produce a new series which will focus on the worst cases of infested homes and examine the science of how / why it happens and what can be done to solve the problem.
Darlow Smithson is a respected documentary production company who make series for National geographic, the BBC, Discovery Channel, PBS, Animal Planet and more. You can check us out at http://www.darlowsmithson.com
The series examines both the ‘natural history’ of various types of creatures that are considered to be pests, and we’re also looking for real life case studies that tell the story of these creatures from the human perspective, in particular what a nuisance they are.
Do get in touch with me on: kate.boddington@darlowsmithson.com and I can give you a call.
Thanks
Kate
No matter where I live, be it the midwest or New England (I’m in Maine) I face an infestation of the pests ^^; I’ve leanred to live with them and if you don’t get up in arms, they’re not going to do you any harm. One of them just flew and landed on my finger a few moments ago and all I did was gently urge it off. They don’t hurt a thing, and if they get to be a trouble inside, just keep on vacuuming.
I lived in WI with an infestation of them… all winter, it was a dark colored house with lots of windows. They smell they secrete attracts them, so if you squish one, you will get three more in the spot where you killed it.
Vacuuming really is best, even if you do have to do it three times a day. I have a dirt devil wind tunnel and I never had a problem with them crawling back out.
I’m wondering about the life cycle of the Lady Beetles, I never see “baby” beetles just adult and dead ones. Perhaps there is a way to kill they problem before it matures.
so i live in colorado and my brother went to the store when he returned there were thousands of lady bugs all over the car have no clue why or where they came from now there coming in the house and my kids are freaking out lol
Hi Jenna
Are you still having this problem in your home?
The story about your brothers car sounds amazing!
I’m interested in finding out more to possibly feature in an Animal Planet documentary called ‘Extreme Infestations’
We are a production company called Darlow Smithson Productions based in London, UK, and we’ve been commissioned to produce a new series which will focus on the worst cases of infested homes and examine the science of how / why it happens and what can be done to solve the problem.
Darlow Smithson is a respected documentary production company who make series for National geographic, the BBC, Discovery Channel, PBS, Animal Planet and more. You can check us out at http://www.darlowsmithson.com
The series examines both the ‘natural history’ of various types of creatures that are considered to be pests, and we’re also looking for real life case studies that tell the story of these creatures from the human perspective, in particular what a nuisance they are.
Do get in touch with me on: kate.boddington@darlowsmithson.com and I can give you a call.
Thanks
Kate
I built a new house on Tellico in 2005. The first year we had a few lady beetles (I thought they were Lady Bugs). Every year we get more and more, from about November until April, we have to deal with them. I have contacted pest control companies and do what they tell me to do and nothing seems to stop them. I am also at my wits end dealing with them. They mainly stay around the big windows facing the lake. There must be something someone knows that will get rid of these pesky critters. I am not so sure that the smell is not bad for my health. After I’m there for a few days, I don’t feel well. We vacuum them all up and the next come back, more have taken their place. What to do about them is beyond me. Thanks for any help out there. Lynn
We are in Pueblo West and woke up this morning to lady beetles everywhere! All over the house, car, ground- everywhere. I’ve lived in Colorado 32 years & never remember anything like this?! I’m absoulutely phobic about miller moths though- so from what I’ve read about the lady beetle – I guess I can grin & bear it! (Besides the flying ants will be coming soon-HA!
October 10, 2 days after the first frosty morn here in Williamsport Indiana. Up until 2 days ago we saw only the occasional lady beetle here on the edge of the woods. WHOA, what a difference since then. I live in a board and batten barn house. The critters find their way in everywhere. Every fall I have been having an exterminator spray the outside of the house. Looking about the outsides of the house are thousands of dead, stinky bodies. Even once they get in, I often have hundreds on the floors near entrances.
Also haven’t seen anyone mention that they bite too. Here’s hoping for a fall without lady beetles.
Pat, I live in Veedersburg. Just wondered if you have found any solutions?
Went to Reading, PA yesterday (10/20/09) to see the Historic Pagoda on the hill/mountain overlooking Reading, PA – there were thousands of lady bugs swarming the white marble pagoda, it was wild. They did not bite but were everywhere.
Wow-just left my sisters in central NY(Marcellus). Her house was covered with these things. It was incredable. Just walking to the car-they were flying all around me, landing on me. I live within the city common, but have a great garden/yard. I collected some and brought them home. I’d love to have these around next spring when we get the aphids on mu locust tree
You would love to have them in your garden yes, but I don’t think you want them in/near your home. Think twice before setting them off or bringing them/introducing them near where you live. They will become a pest. I started noticing them in near the corners of my windows. Freaks me out and I’m on the eleventh floor of an apartment building. How the heck do they get in? I will have to work on sealing off cracks tomorrow during daylight. They are annoying more than anything else and getting me paranoid. SO I’m really surprised that you would LOVE to have them around. Good luck!
Okay we are having the same problem- thousands of them on the high arches of our windows and we live in a Chicago suburb. But my main question is whether anyone here is getting a few in the mix that almost look like a long horn beetle? I don’t think its that but surrounded by all the ladybugs i am noticing a few flying insects with very long legs and long antenna. They are pretty nasty looking. Anyone know if they happen to be related to the ladybug (asain beetle) problem??
Ladybugs cured my aids
did u rub their secretions on urself?
i live in pa today oct 21 i found hundreds of lady bugs all over my front door this morning .never had this happen before .kind of cool and kind of a pain too my daughter keeps trying to eat them
We’ve got ladybugs EVERYWHERE! Don’t mind them so much but the box elder beetles are making me crazy. Living in the Finger Lakes in western NY you get used to bugs but this year’s been crazy. My 5yr.old thinks the ladybugs are great but not the box elders. BTW box elders are black with a red “V” have long legs, long antenae. Look like they could do some harm but are as harmless as ladybugs. I know…. OH, YAY
Glad to see I am not the only one with a lady bug problem. Here in PA I have gone from noticing one or two in the house to hundreds in my laundry room in a matter of days. I don’t have the heart to vacumn them up though!
i’ve always found that crushing them up in mac & cheese is an effective way of killing them — as well as a delicious, protein-rich snack.
for more recipes, visit bugzfoods.com
MORE LADY BEETLES !
LESS PEOPLE !
I live in northeast ohio and have this problem also. Want to get rid of them there is a product call viper. You mix half an ounce to a gallon of water in a garden sprayer and spray the side of the house where they are. This stuff not only kills them but works for days. Go to http://www.bugspray.com and check it out. This stuff works on all insects no matter kind of insect it is.
The ladybugs here in Memphis, TN have taken over. I am allowed to leave my home once a day, and return. They have a leader, and he speaks English, which is good because I do not speak ladybug. I do not appreciate the insect squatters invading my home, but I seem to have no choice. They promise to leave in March, and I fully intend to hold them to that.
Wish us luck.
I, for one, welcome our insect overlords…
We have been attaqched In Arkansas, They have been swarming and crawling everywhere! if you see sun shining on a outside surface of my gray colored vinyl siding you also see a ka-zillion red polka dots of Lady Bugs! They have made it into the area between my screens and windows, they have made it in the opening and closing of doors into the house, where ever a light is turned on you find a LadyBug also. My friends in Oregon are saying gather them up and come out here and sell them to make some money, cause they sell them back there in the stores. Well we sure do not have a shortage of them here!
I am doing a research paper on the causes for the Japanese lady beetle. I was wondering why the USDA decdied to release it when we already have the North American ladybug?
Hi Jessica
Are you still doing your research paper? I’d be really interested in hearing more about it?
Do get in touch with me on: kate.boddington@darlowsmithson.com and I can give you a call.
Thanks
Kate
Ya know Jessica, my husband and I have wondered the same thing for a very LONG time! Because we farm organic we receive a ton of literature all the time and Asian Ladybugs are always featured. Never bought them. Never had to.We have however seen a huge increase in the Asian variety, the North American, not to much. Are they overwhelming our north american?
i live in dothan alabama and i went out this morning and there were thousands of asian lady beetles all over the place i have a small back porch and they were everywhere i’v lived here for years and this is the frist time the infested my house i think killing them is wrong i was telling my husband this morning that i have not seen ladtbugs since i was a child i kinda like seeing them again
Use Bay Leafs around the window ledgers and in corners, my son even taped them to his ceiling fan….they DO NOT like the smell…and they do BITE my daughter’s room was infested I cleaned it with bleach and they went way
We have the Asian Ladybugs in out home, and it is winter. I wonder if they are coming from the attic, we have canned lights in all rooms. If we set a bomb in the attic, would it help? We also tore our old house down this fall and it was unbelieveable how many Asian Ladybugs were there.
My husband uses the vaccum, but we have at least 20 or more a day.
Thanks for the information
After moving into my old home in Maine, this has been a total nightmare. I was a budding entomologist as a kid (I loved “playing” with bugs) and I respected bugs’ roles in nature. So I immediately scooped up the “LADYBUGS” I saw in my window and cooed at them like they were the best things ever as they sat in my hands. Then I sniffed. Funny – I didn’t remember ladybugs smelling like that as a kid (I wouldn’t have played with them so much) (I AM a girl, after all). What I don’t see mentioned much is the absolutely pungent and nauseating odor these faux ladybugs give off even if casually brushed from a tabletop, or if they land on you, etc. Multiply them by millions (so it seems) and I am a total neurotic! I have to cover all my food – even if for a second – to make sure they don’t land in it and render it inedible from their flatulence in the process of fishing them out. They land in food, in my clothing, between pages of books, in my soapy dishwater, crunch underfoot on the floor – and I am completely disgusted by this and the odor and the staining… Though I love bugs, I have a cleanliness law where they don’t factor in…so I relocate them outside – spiders, flies, et al. But these guys – God help me – I vacuum up and smother in a bag. I’m pregnant now, and have whole days where I can’t eat because these bugs are everywhere and I’m CONSTANTLY nauseated because I am confined to my house and I can’t escape them anywhere. The odor, the crunching under foot… They walk on my clean dishes, sour my dishwater… I can’t imagine them crawling all over my poor baby in its’ crib – “tooting”, even worse, being ingested. Please help. You may be wondering, why am I seeing them in the middle of winter? Well, here in Maine we had a few days of near 50 degree weather…so surprise! they’re everywhere and say hello to my permanent morning sickness. I know about filling crevices (we have a 100+ year old house so it is hard to be 100% thorough) and it’s white so we’ll be painting it dark red this summer, but any advice as to natural-based pesticides that won’t kill everything else – whether homemade or purchased or hired through a service – will be greatly appreciated and a Godsend. Thank you so very much for you time, help and “shoulder” to vent on!!!
Hi Maine-ah
I’d love to hear more about you lady bug problem for a series I am working on for Animal Planet.
Do get in touch with me on: kate.boddington@darlowsmithson.com and I can give you a call.
Thanks
Kate
Just bought some lady big killer tried it on a small section where I notice ladybugs tend to be. They scattered and haven’t come back for a few days. I will post another comment when I spray the rest of the house and give it a week. I will also post the spray if it seems to work.
Harvey,
Please keep us posted on your results. Live in N. AL and have a major problem. Could really use some insight on a solution.
Thx,
Deb
Harvey,
What was the name of the spray that you used to kill the lady beetles?
Thanks!
Lisa
Big problem here in southern PA! I do use a shop vacuum when they first come in for the winter, and that seems to keep things managable…but here it is, several feet of snow of the ground, and there is one, definately not hibernating, in my wine glass! At least I don’t seem to get bit except when they swarm…then it’s like a low-budget B-horror movie around here! We also are having trouble with large quantities of stink bugs in our area invading homes. Is anyone else having trouble with them?
Hi Sara
I’d love to hear more about you lady bug problem for a series I am working on for Animal Planet.
Do get in touch with me on: kate.boddington@darlowsmithson.com and I can give you a call.
Thanks
Kate
We have dark spots on our windows and siding. I would like to know if this could be left behind by the Asian Beatle. If so does anyone know how to clean the spots off of windows and siding?
Hello,
Speak about the “ladybug”! We live in Western Tennessee and for about a month now, we have seen many in our large living room window and some others. We have used the vaccum cleaner and fly swatter to keep them at bay, but the next morning they are back. Maybe they will slow down in a few weeks. What a dread to have one or more fly down your mouth while snoring and trying to sleep. As someone has said, “the protein will do you good”. Well we might as well laugh about it until it’s over……
So, from this article they are supposed to hibernate in the winter, well, I have news. They do not wholly hibernate. They are in my bedroom and I cannot get them out. If I spray Raid around the windows when they “pop” in they start to die off, however, I really do not like to have to spray Raid daily in my bedroom. Where are they? If we turn the heat up and my bedroom starts to get a little warm they are “popping” out all over the place like magic, and with that noise. I have vacuumed, sprayed, squished, flushed, etc. I really hate these things.
Last summer I noticed these lady bug/asian beetles on my sreens,the occasional one on my carpet and ceiling…then upon opening a lawnchair..there was a huge moving pile.thousands!it freaked me out so bad! The patio furniture went straight to the dumpster.that night I woke up to one crawling on my back (shiver) now I fear when I go to bed that one is going to crawl in my ear..I have terrible nightmares!! I need these freaky little monsters gone before I lose my mind!! Hepl!
Ok I have to agree with Cynthia, here it is March and all winter long we have been over run with these little bugs! They are EVERYWHERE!!!! They do not annoy me as much as they do my husband who spends most of his day in the bedroom computer programming and he complains nonstop about them being all over the desk, floor, walls and in his coffee cup. I have recently noticed them coming downstairs now and this will annoy me. I have also read that they do not bite or sting, we however, have had them pinch. I have a 11 month old granddaughter that lives with us and she has got them in her mouth.
How do we get rid of them???!!!
Do they “nest” somewhere? My husband seems to think that there is a nest somewhere. I dont think that I have read anywhere that they “nest” or that there is a hive.
Any help would be wonderful!!
Hi Terri
Are you still having this problem? I’d love to chat with you and your husband about the bugs in your home.
I’m researching for an Animal Planet series called ‘Extreme Infestations’
Please do get in touch on the floowing email and I can give you a call.
kate.boddington@darlowsmithson.com
Thanks
Kate
We get a whole ton of them every year but this year i had a light right above me on my bed, ive had a few land on me.. and occasionally id feel a pinch or soon after it would itch where it was. I thought it was just a psychological thing at first.. that i just was kinda crazy haha.. but i actually just found this site because i just felt a pinch and looked down and it was one of those pests && It sparked my curiosity and wanted to see if they were harmful in anyway.
Well, like Maine-ah (hope you’re feeling better, btw), I always ‘played’ with bugs as a kid, too, and never had too much of a problem with them. We bought a house that I’d lived in years ago; it had these bugs then, has them now. They visit annually and this batch has been here since the fall. I usually don’t vaccuum them up or anything, they just eventually stop coming. This year though, they’ve been a real nuisance, and my daughter is scared to death of them and won’t sleep in her room (figures. Hers is the brightest and gets the afternoon sun which they seem to love). As I write this they are flapping around inside the lamp, and they will clamp onto your skin with a pretty tight grip. Thanks for the info; glad to know they’re pretty harmless.
My husband’s job has required us to live in three different places in the last three years and these pests are everywhere we’ve been. (Central Illinois and north east Kentucky) I vacuum multiple times a day and they just keep coming! I agree they bite or pinch! I even had one land in the corner of my eye as I slept and reacted with swelling and burning. I need a solution other than the vacuum! They invade every room and I sincerely wish the supposedly educated people who keep introducing foreign fish, bugs, and horticulture to our nation would STOP. Between the infestation of flying carp, asian beetles/lady bugs, and creeping moss our country’s ecological balance, beauty and our lives are being negatively impacted. Someone please find a solution!!!
I HATE THESE THINGS!!! Every day since the end of October, these stupid idiot bugs have been driving me insane!!! I believe they’re getting into our basement via the furnace intake because they’re definitely in the basement and I’ve seen a few fly up out of the floor vents! Once they’re out, they are attracted to the white window blinds and they get up into the highest corner of the windows.
I use two ways to get ‘em…in the basement, I use the shopvac which works really well. In the bedrooms, I pick them off the windows with a little piece of duck tape so they don’t squish and shoot out their stinky $h!t everywhere!!!
This summer once they’re gone (hopefully they’ll leave, because the each year we’ve lived in this house the problem has gotten worse and worse) I’m going to caulk the basement windows and cover all the bathroom/laundry room vents with netting. ANYTHING to get these annoying B!tche$ out of my HOUSE!!!!
FINALLY! Someone who feels the way I do! In NC they will not spray outside because they are an endangered species. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Evidently they aren’t endangered at MY house!!! About 15 years ago my husband and I bought an outdoor building. The next day the doors were COVERED in them. I went out and bought inside/outside garden bug spray and they were gone the next day. I’m in the process of finding some more spray to take care of my house. I HATE these things. I don’t care if they eat aphids…When they come in my house they will die as far as I’m concerned. If anyone has a good way to get rid of them…something that won’t affect my cats and dog…I would LOVE to know it. Thanks!
Some of these buggers just swarmed on a window inside my house. It seems like they are coming out of the woodwork. I’ve just vacuumed a bunch up, and I hope that does the trick. Gah- I see one more….
I have new windows. We have caulked and sprayed and tried darn near everything known to mankind. These things don’t EVER die, and if one of them does, they just invite more to come to the funeral…I have never seen such an infestation of any type of bug, and I am 55 years young. This is way out of control!! Whoever sent these to our country~~come and get them!! I can’t live my life, because I am always running around with the sweeper, sucking up Asian beetles. Enough is enough…they need an intervention!!!
Terrible, just terrible this Spring, WAY worse than in the Fall!!!! I took a picture yesterday of the window in my Chicken house, there had to be over a THOUSAND…and the same with the other window!!
I am in East Central Illinois, and this gets worse year after year!
Thanks USDA!!
Emmy, can you share that picture with us? Or you can email it to ken@kensavage.com and I’ll post it here for you. Amazing!!
hi, i was just wondering if the nation had done anything about this infestation?
I totally agree with the comments about introducing such species as the Asian lady beetle, thereby causing ecological imbalance. That’s serious and just wrong. I was advised that our Canadian government introduced fishers to control porcupines in our area (Ontario) because cottagers were complaining about the porcupines chewing their doors, etc. Then the cougar was introduced to take care of the fishers. Oh, great! Back to the Asian lady beetle – I agree they are disgusting because of the sheer numbers of them.
Please don’t spray or use mothballs though, for your own sakes. If it kills bugs, don’t you think it will be bad for you? You probably won’t see the effects today or tomorrow, but somewhere down the line, the effects of these toxic chemicals may catch up to you. (Although I personally know several people who were inadvertently exposed to massive pesticide spraying and were immediately and severely affected and they were unable to work ever again; they have little quality of life and are changed forever.)
Common pesticides used in homes and lawns are now being shown in medical research to accelerate aging of the immune and nervous system resulting in serious health problems years after exposure. While petroleum based chemicals are required by the U.S. Government (EPA) to be tested for a variety of health effects, they are currently NOT required to be tested for causing subtle neurological damage (memory, personality, behavior etc), effects upon the developing brain during pregnancy, immune system effects, autoimmunity and effects upon the brain’s primary defense – the blood brain barrier. We thankfully now have a ban on cosmetic use of pesticides in Ontario (lawns and gardens). But you don’t need to believe me – you might like to do your own research. Your health is in your hands when you choose to use toxic chemicals.
Hi.
I currently live in East Sussex, England. My home is infested with ladybugs, you move one 3 more replace it, they have stained our blinds and fly everywhere. Does anyone have any other options to get rid of these pests without them coming to harm?
They secret yellow fluid which is pungent and seem to bite and leave marks on your skin.
Many thanks
I have just noticed a small enclave of these Asian lady Beetles in my home for the first time. Early October, all the right signs for an infestation. I am going to clean the area that I found them (six individuals) with bleach and water and keep an eye out for more. I won’t use pesticides to get rid of them, but I will use every natural method in my arsenal to curb their spread within my home. As yet the problem is small, but I know from my days in NY that a large swarm can be very uncomfortable.
My question to the group: I found six bugs in a patch inside my home, so does a small “expeditionary” group like this often herald a larger swarm to group, using its smells to attract them? If so does removing this first small colony help dissuade a bigger gathering. Or do they usually seem to congregate all at once, and getting rid a few to start have no effect later on? I am wondering how aggressively I should deal with these critters. I also have had a modest population of stink bugs pretty much since I moved here, randomly crawling through my home, any suggestions on those?
I wonder if I could get a gecko or something to just eat up all my uninvited guests. Although that type of thinking seems to be what causes these problems in the first place!
I like your thinking! If we released a large number of geckos they would eat all of the ladybugs. So what happens if the geckos get out of hand? I am sure if we imported cobras they would take care of the gecko. I know what you are thinking. You would rather have ladybugs instead of cobras. You just aren’t thinking things through. All it would take to eliminate the cobras are a few mongoose releases. PROBLEM SOLVED!
Been living in Clackamas, Oregon for 2 1/2 years. I lived with Boxelders and Asian Lady Beetles every winter. I even think it may have affected my social life, as my house feels like a Hitchcock movie. They come in and die on the floor in my bedroom.
I would even put the boxelders and beetles outside if the occasional adventurer would crawl on my hand.
But with the latest addition of dust mites interfering with my sleep, and with the discovery of an asian beetle under my mattress cover, for the first time I waged an all out war with the vacuum cleaner on the beetles. I need my house to be clean. I like bugs, but not in the house crawling on my bed and dieing in the middle of the floor as well as where I sleep.
Have some decency! Go die in the walls somewhere!
I sealed up the bedroom window cracks with that foam sealant stuff. It is ugly, but the number of boxelders is but a fraction of what it was. Not the beetles though; they are still somehow getting in, and I’ll just need to keep sealing things up until I figure it out.
We just relocated to Rogersville, Tennessee. We’re experiencing the infestation of the Asian Lady Beetles as well. The windows upstairs in the library are covered with black dots so this has been going on for some time before our arrival. Thousands, it has to be thousands that we vacuumed last fall and now that it’s warming up again, they’re back. They come downstairs too. They’re in every room, even the bathroom but mostly in the library. They’re either flying around, crawling on the windows or lying dead on the floor. They congregate in little groups in the upper corners of rooms. Good to know that they don’t breed inside but hard to imagine sooo many of them in here dormant through the winter. Where are they hiding while hibernating? Strange how they can vanish like that. I don’t like them. I can’t sit in my library and read. They whiz past my ears, get stuck in my long hair and land in my coffee. It’s an old, white country home so difficult to seal all possible access points. Going to clean the wood around the windows of their feces but it’ll just come right back. Awful. Awful. I refuse to use toxic chemicals, personally. http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/br/lbeetle/001030.trap.pdf Too bad this trap seems so difficult to make…
Hi Karynda
You may have seen some of my other postings but I am researching for an Animal Planet series called ‘Infested’and we are looking for interesting case studies to be featured in our series.
Are you still having this problem? I’d love to chat with you about your experience.
Please do get in touch on the following email and we can arrange a good time for me to give you a call.
kate.boddington@darlowsmithson.com
Thanks
Kate
I live in Detroit, MI
This past weekend I was in bed and noticed an horrible itching
sensation on my leg. I scratched like crazy for a moment then threw
the covers back to see what was biting me. I didn’t see anything but blazing red bites on my shin. I checked my feet and discovered bites on both feet and my arms also. I panicked like crazy and wondered if somehow I had brought home the dreaded bedbugs from some public place like the casino or movie theater. This threw me into a severe panic mode. I got out of bed snatched all covers off and began to inspect the mattresses and all areas of the bed. Didn’t see or find anything. The covers were taken to the washer immediately and dried the next morning. I was afraid to sleep in my own bedroom.
I decided to get a head start on the mystery feeders and covered all food, dishes etc. and set a fogger in the center of the downstairs floor (supposedly covers 5000 sq. ft.) Immediately left my home for about 3 hours then returned and aired out the house (12 degrees) outside. I vacuumed lower and upper level of the house. Went to bed.
Next morning, my bathtub on the upper level of house was full of these asian beetles. Scared me half to death. They didn’t show up until the next day after the fogging. I have no idea where they were nesting. I surmise that they were nesting in the air vent in the ceiling of the bathroom. Believe me they do bite and after the second day the bites turned beet red as if something had been injected under my skin. The itching is very intense. I used hydrocortisone to help stop the itching, but it appears the discolorations will be around for awhile. I plan to fog again in about a week.
I’ve seen them outside, but never more than one or two in summer in the house. I don’t have animals/ pets of any kind and have never had fleas or bugs in my home. This is bad. They are not cute. They are little monsters.
Hi Eve
You may have seen some of my other postings but I am researching for an Animal Planet series called ‘Infested’and we are looking for interesting case studies to be featured in our series.
Are you still having this problem? I’d love to chat with you about your experience.
Please do get in touch on the following email and I can give you a call.
kate.boddington@darlowsmithson.com
Thanks
Kate
Eve, this morning my little boy awoke with one fresh bite and like 5 other bites from earlier. I as you searched frantically to see what the cause may be and the only thing that I found were those stupid beetles. I begin searching and found that someone else had experienced bites from these little devils. Now that I may know the cause of the bites and have found that someone else has experienced this I don’t feel so crazy, however I was wondering if you still had the problem? If anyone else in your house was bitten? And how you have dealt with this problem. Please let me know when you get a chance.
MORE LADYBEETLES!
LESS PEOPLE!
OMGOODNESS. . .
My 23 year old daughter came down from her room and said that she had an ear ache. I told her that if it continued she needed to see a doctor. A bit later she came and said there was something in her ear. I laughed and told her she was crazy. She continued to scream at me as she was digging into her ear. I told her to stop for it was going to get worse. She kept saying “IT’S MOVING!!!” “I CAN FEEL IT, GET IT OUT!!!!” At this time I became a little concerned. I told her I would check it. As I took her ear and pulled up on it something fell out…. OMG… It was one of these beetles. She kept saying “I TOLD YOU!!!!” She now sleeps with ear plugs in her ears when she visits…
To all with this issue. I live in southern IL and once they are in the house, that’s it, deal with it. Either vacuum or find a safe solution to repel or kill these little pests. However, the BEST way is prevention. I know everyone keeps saying that they fill cracks and crevices but you cannot, no matter how hard, fill EVERYTHING. I have yet to see it named here but there is a product called Eco Exempt IC-2. This is ORGANIC so it is safe inside and out and around animals (my biggest need since I have cats). It is basically a mix of Rosemary Oil, Mineral Oil and Oil of Wintergreen and a few other things. Not sure why, but it works. Not only to repel but also to kill. Oh, and as a benefit you can use this as a mosquito repellent too on bushes and grounds. Shop around but do NOT spend over 100 bucks for this as you can generally find it for 75 (comes as a gallon). I think even Amazon sells it. There is even a spray that is best indoors called EcoEXEMPT KO. Amazon has this too.
We love our lady beetles and are very happy to be able to let them come in for the winter. They don’t harm anything and just live in the upstairs part of the house, managing to get in through our older windows.. we are getting new windows so it will be sad not to have them anymore, hopefully they can still find a way in
)))))
))
We love nature!! Everything deserves to live
These lady bug beetles are not the sweet things you think they are…The horrible smell they exibit makes eye infections and they also ruin the wood in your home.My husband has an eye infection right now because we were trying to move them out of our kitchen…One child in our town got one in her ear and she was in horrible pain….too many too much…
I love nature also, everything..but ..if you had these bug s all over like a lot of us do you would not be so happy to have them..
I am so tired.
Jane…if you are still having a problem do what I did. I got Raid (or Spectricide)and went outside my house and sprayed the living daylights out of my windows. I went around them, then under the siding nearest to the windows. It worked!! It took about a day or so and I haven’t seen them since. Good luck!!
ps-you should have an actual photo of each one so we can compare,
thanks!
I agree about having an actual photo ~ I have hundreds of the little critters around my home and wonder if they are lady bugs or their imposter!
If you use the vacuum, you can take a break and suck a plastic bag somewhat into the hose to keep them from getting out. When they’re crawling over your face when you sleep and up your nose (no, I’m not kidding), they are pests and should be treated as such. Removing them when they’re inside your house, whichever way, hardly decimates the population.
And Asian Beetles bite! Not itchy or painful after the first few minutes, but a small ouch, nonetheless.
I think i was bitten by a lady bettle! I got out of my vehicle and was swarmed with them. One landed on my bottom lip and when I attempted to spit it out of my mouth it secreted a toxin that was fowl and tasted even worse. For a couple of hours my lips felt burned. This happened to me Saturday afternoon and today (Monday)my lips feel like they are chapped. Any thoughts on this would greatly be appreciated. I don’t know if they are poisonous or not!
Thanks!
When I first moved to the Midwest these Asian Beetles freaked me out. They swarm every year on our light-colored house along with box elder bugs. Ick. I’ve learned ways to deal with them. Firstly, yes, the Asian Beetle will will bite…seems to be when it’s scared and not common in my experience. No this is not poisonous. If you’ve got swarms, it’s not lady bugs. It’s Asian Beetles (or Lady Beetles). THE ABSOLUTE best way I’ve found to deal with them both inside and outside the house is with something like Windex or the Housewash you buy and attach to a house. This is the only thing that works (works on the box elders too). Bug Spray does not work. When I’ve had larger infestations in the house, I walk around with a bottle of windex and some paper towels (to pick them up after they drop to the floor). This year I don’t have a huge infestation so I’m leaving them alone. The Asian Beetle is, after all, beneficial to my garden.
Asian lady beetles DO bite. I live in south central nebraska, in a small town surrounded by farmland. Every fall, during soybean harvesting, these darn bugs start showing up. The first fall we lived here, we had to rebuild the back wall of the garage (old stable/carriage house) and then paint it. I swear, I must have painted half the town flailing away trying to keep the lady beetles from biting me. Had to have one hand for holding onto the ladder, leaving my painting hand as the only one to chase off the beetles. Can’t wait till we have a good hard freeze to get rid of the things.
They may not be dangerous but they sure do bite the hell out of you.
I am seeing little spots all over the wall and am scraping them off as I see them. Last year we did have lots of the asian ladybugs in this room and so now I am wondering if this spotting is coming from the bugs inside the wall. could it be there waste material?
We have been infested with Asian Lady Beetles for years. Funny, we fogged them, vaccummed them and individually killed them one by one, but they keep coming back. We have discovered that we have a water leak problem with the master bath and had to remove the drywall in the basement ceilling to repair it. After removing the drywall and insulation in the ceiling we discovered that these bettles were eating the insulation/drywall paper and leaving a mud-like trail on top on the wood beams simular to that by terimites. The only difference was there were no grooves in the wood underneath the mud-like trails. My brother is convinced that these mud-like trails were left by terimites. I am not sure. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?