HELP! We are under attack from swarming ladybugs.

[mom2boys]

It is unbelievable. They have covered my kitchen and back doors (southern & western exposures). We have had them in the past - not last year - but NEVER like this. They have even covered my mailbox. I can't even bring my groceries in. Anybody else? Any suggested deterents?

 

[mickey4ver]

yep, doing the same thing i our neck of the woods...yikes, they are everywhere...

 

[Jeafl]

We have a horrible combination of the fake ladybugs (the brownish ones--I think they are really Japanese beetles) and the disgusting boxelder bugs on the back of our house. It's a lethal combination.

 

[myboysmom]

Yes, the Asian beetles. Here is some info on how to keep them out. What ever you do, don't squish them or you get orange stains all over

http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/kyf210.html

 

[KM2004]

and they secrete that awful odor for protetion. ugh, I hate lady bugs. I remember at college, they'd infest our dorm rooms. They'd be all over the walls, on the ceilings, on the windows, everywhere!

I'd suck them up with a vaccuum cleaner and empty it outside.

 

[lilpritch04]

Ick! We had Asian beetles last year and it was awful!
We would suck them up with the vacuum cleaner as well.

 

[luckywife]

We have those nasty things around our house too. I noticed them really bad last Friday. They were covering the ceiling in our living room and were all over the light on the end table. I noticed them again yesterday but today they're not so bad. Gross things......

 

[minniepumpernickel]

I've had the ladybugs like that before! I have no idea why they swarm occasionally. I was wondering if I had a nest somewhere near by. they eventually left, though!

 

[SC Minnie]

Make sure you get them out of your house. They will 'lay eggs' or whatever they do and they will hatch in the spring and you will have tiny pin size lady bugs everywhere. They are protected so an exterminator can't help you. Suck them up with the vacuum.

They usually swarm here every fall.

 

[Rokkitsci]

Originally posted by mom2boys
It is unbelievable. They have covered my kitchen and back doors (southern & western exposures). We have had them in the past - not last year - but NEVER like this. They have even covered my mailbox. I can't even bring my groceries in. Anybody else? Any suggested deterents?

We had that problem last year - I took the vacuum cleaner and sucked them up whereever I found them = took it out to the vacant lot behind my house to empty it.

We have a couple this year - not a massive infestation like last year.

yet

 

[Deb in IA]

And they BITE, too!!! Ouch!!!

 

[hercamore]

Jeez, I second the biting!

I was trying to do yardwork sunday, when I keep getting bit by those bugs.

herc.

 

[Disney Enthusiast]

Today is our swarming day too! We usually get a light swarming day, then a heavy swarming day, in October sometime. Never know when they will hit, but it's usually a day when it's warm and the sun is shining. They get me from the south side mostly. And if they get in, you NEVER get rid of them. My DH has been caulking our light fixtures for years now, and this may be the first year they haven't swarmed into our home. Thank Goodness. I think they got into our attic area and kept coming down thru the fixtures all winter. They drive me nuts.

Never got bit by one though. Oh my! Ours are just really stinky.

 

[Scutapipig]

I can't speak for the ladybugs, but we've had swarms of boxelders for years. This year I've only seen two. Yup....TWO! The lot across the street from us was cleared for trees six months ago and they all went with the trees.

We boiled pots of water, walked them outside and threw them on the house. It kills them instantly and we saw fewer and fewer each year.

I've also heard a solution of soap and water sprayed on them will help keep them away, but it never worked for us.

 

[Princess Dot]

Same problem here, although I haven't seen as many this year maybe due to the rather cool and cloudy weather here in the NE.

They sure do stink though when you vacuum them up!

I did read that they don't really multipy in your house over the winter, they just hibernate and then come out again in the spring. They also don't harm your house like termites. I don't know if this is all true, but I spent hours on the net last spring researching these pesky bugs and that is what I recall reading.

If anyone has a solution to deter them from hibernating in your home, please let us know. Short of chemical pesticides, I am willing to try almost anything!

 

[AWD]

A few years ago we had them REALLY bad. They were all over
the front door. They had a story on the news that fall about the ladybug problem. They said that they are attracted to light colored houses which we have
They have not been a problem this year, probably because
we've had a lot of cool weather.

 

[mom2boys]

Well, the University of Maryland bug people were of no use. The man basically told me to live with the ladybugs. Not an option - DS(9) & I actually have an allergic reaction to them - they cause our eyes to swell up. Someone suggested wasp spray. It is helping. I sprayed the door & window frames & the side porch. There are hundreds of carcuses out there from yesterday's swarm.

 

[KristiKelly]

We have about 100 wasp on our upstairs porch off our bedrrom and ladybugs on our front porch. I've never really been bothered by the ladybugs, DD goes out & catches them. They usually are gone within a day or 2.

 

[Lizzydoll73]

We had a bunch on our house yesterday. My DD went out and caught about 30 so now they are in her bug box in the house. My DS keeps trying to open it. He did this in the summer when she caught Lightening bugs and we and them lighting up the house. She had fun recatching them though.