Asian Lady Beetle nuisance?

[ams3651]

There is a type of mite that infests the trees and they will drop lady bugs because they eat them, the mites can kill the forest. Our Girl Scout camp had an adopt a ladybug fundraiser for this purpose. The only way to get rid of the asian ones is to have your house sprayed, once they get in it will just keep getting worse. The red lady bug has symetrical spots on each side and are very beneficial for your garden because they eat aphids among other things.

 

[chickenannie]

But if you spray and then your birds (wild or domesticated) eat the bugs, or around the area of the bugs, won't they be imbibing poisons?

Why not use a mechanical means....a good strong vacuum?

 

[Badhbh]

That's what I did when they nested in my house many years ago. I vacuumed them up by the thousands. Not kidding.. they were swarming all over the house.

 

[silkiechicken]

I thought they looked a bit funky with all those dots. Shows how much I know about bugs!

 

[ams3651]

If they are outside I wouldnt worry about it but if they get in the house, which happened to several people here, they will have to be sprayed to get rid of. You can vacuum them up every day but it is only a temporary fix. When you see them crawling on your bath towels, clean dishes, in your hair and your food, they may have to go.

 

[yankeemtfarm]

Quote:
that is how it is around here, they are in everything!!

we literally have thousands upon thousands,probably millions. we live in old log house and they just find their way into every nook and cranny.

on a warm day in the fall or spring they swarm so bad around the house and barn, the horses and goats stay inside just to avoid them. they do not sting or bite but they do "nip".

we have been vacuuming them up , its easy to fill up a small shop vac in a few minuets.
when you vacuum them up they stink ,and then the vacuum stinks.

i think i need to look into spraying, any idea what is used?

BA

 

[ams3651]

We have a guy that does spraying and exterminating around here, like Terminex but just a guy. I dont know what he uses.


just to add...my gram lives in what was an originally a 2 room log cabin, theres alot of houses like that in this area i guess. Lots of nooks and cranies for them to hide.

 

[sundance]

we have an overabundance of them twice a year, they are so bad that sometimes we have to stay in the house to avoid being bitten and yes they do hurt, this is the first year we have had chickens so don't know if they will eat the red ladybugs we have or not, but we have by multiplied thousand's I read somewhere that if you put cotton balls soaked in camphor oil in the windows it will keep them out, tried it and it may work some but we have so many it doesn't takelong to fill up the vacuum bag, and they do STINK.

Owned by !3 RIR,1 pitt bull, 1 poodle mix,1 yorkie,1 great dane, and 1 crabby gray cat.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

First, three is a difference between the Asian Beetle and the Lady Bug. The lady Bug is native to this country and has always been a friend to gardners.

The Asian Beetle was brought into this country, by the DNR, to help control the aphids in the soybeans. The Asian Beetle stinks, bites, leaves orange marks (if you smack them) and have no natural prediators in this country. Nothing likes them because of their bitter taste, so I don't imagine you have to worry about spaying for them. If you vacuum them up you better empty the vacuum cleaner immediately or you will be vacuuming up some of the same ones next time. Yes, they bite-hard. If you get bit by many of them you can become sick. I was spraying our house one year when it was covered by them. I was bitten many times and was sick afterwards from them.

They come into our houses and other buildings looking to winter where it is warm.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I guess we should be calling the red ones lady beetles instead of bugs, to be more precise.
Weyerhauser (the big timber company out here) drops them from airplanes or helicopters to combat the pine beetle. The lady beetles eat the larvae of the pine beetle.
And every year there is a debate amongst the older folks about whether they bite or just pinch. It does sting.