Got ladybugs?

[QRTRHRS]

Our house has been overrun by Asian ladybugs this (so called) winter. So much so that we resorted to sucking them up with a vacuum cleaner. My wife is allergic to them too. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a small bug zapper which I actually set up inside of our house. No bait though.

I had put wheels on one of those wire racks which we winter over some house plants on. The rack sits in front of a seldom used full glass exterior door that in spite of my having added extra foam weather strip to, the ladybugs still seem to be coming in there. The zapper proved to be so successful that I had to put a plastic tray under it to catch dead bugs.

A hard shelled bug like a ladybug getting zapped is much more "radical" that your average sketter or a nat. Plus they stick to the wire so every couple of days I blow it out with compressed air. We unplug it if we are going to leave the house just in case.

 

[Stan B]

Asian lady beetles nest in houses in the fall. That's the time to deal with them. We used to have quite the problem when they'd emerge from hibernation in the spring, but a couple years ago I started spraying the soffits, and gable end vents with deltamethrin around their swarm time. Usually when it drops to near 40°F at night and rises above during the day. No issues since.

For your problem, they make pre-diluted spray bottles of deltamethrine, which you can spray the interior windows with. When they emerge from wherever they're hiding they head straight for the light. They touch the stuff and drop dead in minutes.

Be careful if you have pets, especially cats. It can build up to toxic levels in their systems but as long as they don't come into direct contact with the liquid it should be fine.

 

[Thomas]

Our lady bugs are problem in autumn and like you air compressor or vacuum only weapon.

 

[caver]

There is a spray I got locally. My barn would get overrun with them on a late fall day when it's been cold and there is a warmup. It's in a yellow spray bottle and I can't remember where I bought it from. It seems to have put a dent in the population...could be a fluke and just bought some snake oil.

 

[rekees4300]

Our house has been overrun by Asian ladybugs this (so called) winter. So much so that we resorted to sucking them up with a vacuum cleaner. My wife is allergic to them too. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a small bug zapper which I actually set up inside of our house. No bait though.

I had put wheels on one of those wire racks which we winter over some house plants on. The rack sits in front of a seldom used full glass exterior door that in spite of my having added extra foam weather strip to, the ladybugs still seem to be coming in there. The zapper proved to be so successful that I had to put a plastic tray under it to catch dead bugs.

A hard shelled bug like a ladybug getting zapped is much more "radical" that your average sketter or a nat. Plus they stick to the wire so every couple of days I blow it out with compressed air. We unplug it if we are going to leave the house just in case.

I've been fighting them for 20 years! They arrive in October and leave in April. Use a Shopvac on the reachables during that period. Those that can't find an exit in April die within a few weeks.

 

[drssg]

In Switzerland, they are considered good luck. I was staying at a nice hotel, and they left chocolate lady bugs on my pillow. They don't bother me. I just vacuum up the dead ones.

When we bought our land, there was a small and very run down shed near the road. It was made with some large beams that were heavily rotted. Large holes in the beams were stuffed with lady bugs.