Any ladybug solutions?

[scoutcub]

Moved to Ohio last May, I remember looking in the basement and seeing piles of *hundreds* maybe more all around the floor. Were all over the main floor as well. Now with spring coming, seeing more and more again all around the house. How do they get in? Are they just propagating once in the house? How can I control/get rid of them??

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[BruceWard]

I believe people buy ladybugs to kill other insects.

 

[Ford850]

They migrate in for the winter and usually stay in cracks or gaps around window frames or siding. In the spring the emerge and end up dead along windows as they try to get out. Spring time with the temperatures going up and down, they seem to try to get out while the warm sun is out but back in for the cold nights. Once it gets a little warmer they move away from the house and you only have to clean up the piles of dead bugs once. They have a strong odor so if you use a shop vac to collect them, be prepared for it to spread the smell! They cause no damage and are more of a nuisance, but some years are worse than others.
The older the house, the more places for them to hide. I've cleaned up several gallons of them at my parents house before.

 

[moored4]

Why would you want to get rid of them? I know you think they are a nuisance and when we first encountered them at our new place we were thinking just like you.

They are very beneficial to the home gardener, they don't eat material like moths do or destroy any thing of your's, and they don't leave tracks like house flies do. My daughter loved them and now so does my grand kids! There is a poem about them, something about fly away fly away your house is on fire? They are a part of country life just as are fire flies, June bugs, caddis, screw flies. We learned to love and appreciate them. OR you can just spray them with some chemical Spray, oh! Save some spray for your roses cause they will have aphids this summer.

 

[schoolsout]

I believe people buy ladybugs to kill other insects.

They are excellent for gardens
they will destroy aphids

 

[nolefan]

This topic has come before and as others have mentioned these are probably not lady bugs but Asian Lady Beetles. Check the link out to see the good and bad about them.
FACT SHEET: The Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle
Because of the juice, which stains, and the smell it emits when smashed, I have found the best defense is a good vacuum cleaner. Just suck them up and then release them outside. As an earlier poster mentioned its just a part of having a home in a rural area.

 

[Jimbo16720]

They have a spray that can be used on the outside of houses that kills them and stops them for years but you have to have an exterminator do it. It isn't sold over the counter. I told my mother about it years ago and it works. They get into everything on a house and live through the winter and come out when it warms up in spring. Western Pa gets them every year and thats the only thing that helps.

 

[Financegal]

Am in VA. These aren't ladybugs, some form of beetle in the same family. Years ago came home and the ceiling around the french door was covered in them. There are not a lot of remedies. Eventually called an exterminator -they use a pyrytheum (sp?) spray around the outside of the doors and windows and perimeter of the foundation which greatly controlled them (you'll know cuz you'll see plenty of dead carcasses outside).

He said how plentiful they are from year to year changes. Sometimes they just disappear for years and reappear years later. He said every August (at least here in VA) I needed to spray the same area b/c when weather gets cold they look for warm. Spraying that time, just before the fall and weather change also kills the larvae and so you get much less of them.

I have tried Ortho Home Defense pest control (sold at Walmart). I did it myself and that worked relatively well. I took his suggestions, sprayed when/where he said and it did work okay, not as well as the commercial stuff but helped tremendously.

 

[beenthere]

I have good success with Ortho Home Defense as a spray around and on the house in the fall when the Asian beetles (not ladybugs) are flying. They are a real nuisance and a PITA. The spray I use has some staying power but kills the beetle when they walk across the area sprayed.
Side benefits are the spray also is good for spiders, daddy-long-legs, and wasps. Anything that crawls or lands on the areas sprayed. Add boxelder bugs to that list too.

 

[sal64]

Moved to Ohio last May, I remember looking in the basement and seeing piles of *hundreds* maybe more all around the floor. Were all over the main floor as well. Now with spring coming, seeing more and more again all around the house. How do they get in? Are they just propagating once in the house? How can I control/get rid of them??

Any advice is appreciated!

i use a shop vac.