Here come te ladybugs!

[indianadana]

I woke up this morning to a the sight of about 30 of these little buggers on my bedroom window and I know more are coming. Just got rid of the bees and now it's time for ladybugs. It actually kind of makes me look forward to winter when everything is dead.

[candied]

You must have a bug friendly home. Are ladybugs a nuissance? I don't see them very often in California.

Candace

[Admin shilton]

Don't ladybugs actually eat other bugs?? If so it may be a good thing they are there to keep others away?

[indianadana]

They are a pain when there are hundreds of them and they are falling on you in bed and in your food and dying everywhere. Mostly the corpses are what are the real pain. You end up spending alot of time cleaning them out of your windowsills and vaccumning them up and they stink.They migrate through here and everyone gets them some just worse than others. I don't think they eat other bugs. They are pretty small but I am not really sure. I do know that if they land on a hot baseboard heater they will pop when they explode. They will be gone soon. Does anyone else get these?? Wonder why they don't like California. Maybe they just don't try to come in since it is not cold.

[candied]

I didn't realize that ladybugs did some of the things you talked about. Crazy! I see them sometimes in California, but nothing like you described, wow. I do hope they are gone soon.

Candace

[penny-penn]

We get them around here, but that time has passed for us. They are pretty bad just after Labor Day. (and ironically just after the bees are bad...lol)

[Fourboys]

we get them in oregon - various parts get tthem worse than others. do you get the japanese lady bugs which can bite?

we dont have them too bad ehre - but I know when the weather is *turning* for lady bugs start to show up in the house and they LOVE my side door. It's white and southfacing - nice and warm in the chilly fall.

[tourxpert]

I am on round two with the ladybugs. We warmed up today and when I ran home at lunch sure enough they were in my house. I have/had thousands. I keep a small shop vac and spray raid in the inside and vacuum them up. I am afraid to go home tonight and see how many more are in my house. I didn't go upstairs at lunch. yikes!

[penny-penn]

The Japanese are the ones we get. Not only do they bite, but they also stain if you kill one on something light in color.

[indianadana]

. do you get the japanese lady bugs which can bite?



Are those what the orange ones are?/ I know that they bite. I thought that we had maybe missed the worst of them this year but it warmed up today and they appeared. Usually it happens a little earlier than this.

[Admin megansmama]

We get a little brood once a year just inside my french doors. In the beginning I thought it was really cool but now it's a little bit of a nuisance cleaning up after it. To those in California - it probably depends on your climate. I know in my area the climate can range dramatically from one side of town to the other.

[Fourboys]

. do you get the japanese lady bugs which can bite?



Are those what the orange ones are?/ I know that they bite. .

yes. though so far we havent had anyone bitten by one.

[penny-penn]

One bit me a couple summers ago while I was mowing the lawn. It left a tiny blister that didnt' go away for a few weeks.

[Breeze]

We get tons and tons of them around here. I haven't seen any this fall, we usually see them in the spring.

[Sue]

We had a ton of them today. My house looked polka doted. They really don't bother me so much. We also have the Asian beetles, that bite.
A few years back, well, almost 10 years now. We had an addition put on our house, when the builder pulled the siding off the whole entire end of the house was covered with lady bugs. It was quite a site! I guess they were looking for a warm place to live for the winter.

[nurscindi]

Actually as annoying and stinky that they can be, they are useful insects, they eat Aphids which are little flying bugs that liveon and eat common veggetable plants in gardens. We used to buy some every spring and empty them into the garden on PURPOSE! lol weird when you think your trying to get rid of them. You ought to let the little critters hybernate thru the winter and then in spring right around breeding season collect them and sell them online or something. The reason they smell is because they secrete a chemical that turns other bugs off of eating them. Sort of their defense mechanism.

[cheapeats]

I know that they are useful & I like useful bugs. I even made my husband skip a bush this weekend when he was trimming b/c a big spider is living there now and my dd2 has named her Miss Spider and talks to her. I don't mind the lizards that bask in the sun on my porches--they are just not invited inside (they are especially not invited to run across and rest on my bridal portrait hanging on the wall and then play in the blinds--it's just not allowed!)
When wildlife comes into MY house it has crossed the line!
I HATE ladybugs. We saw our first group of this season crawling in around the french doors of our bedroom yesterday. uggh! We've had problems with them for the past several years. I just vaccum them up and dump them. I really hate it when they join me in the shower or decide to bump around in the lampshades at night!

[Admin megansmama]

I know that they are useful & I like useful bugs. I even made my husband skip a bush this weekend when he was trimming b/c a big spider is living there now and my dd2 has named her Miss Spider and talks to her. I don't mind the lizards that bask in the sun on my porches--they are just not invited inside (they are especially not invited to run across and rest on my bridal portrait hanging on the wall and then play in the blinds--it's just not allowed!)
When wildlife comes into MY house it has crossed the line!
I HATE ladybugs. We saw our first group of this season crawling in around the french doors of our bedroom yesterday. uggh! We've had problems with them for the past several years. I just vaccum them up and dump them. I really hate it when they join me in the shower or decide to bump around in the lampshades at night!

LOL - that's exactly how I feel! God made them a huge playground to live in and they should stay there! Bugs don't survive very long in my house! ;)

[jimandbeth1]

I never realized how much they could swarm. I lived in KY growing up and never noticed them as a kid. Here in SoCal I see an increase in spring and fall and my girls love to go out and catch them and and all sorts of stuff. I have a hibiscus that gets aphids fromt ime to time, so we always let the ladybugs go on that plant when we are done. These critters are such and Entertainment for the DD's. I did not know about the japanese variety and that they bite. If thosee are the orange ones then that explains why DD #1 had mysterious bumbs and rashes this past spring.

[Gail & LaVan]

Don't ladybugs actually eat other bugs?? If so it may be a good thing they are there to keep others away?

Ladybugs do eat other bugs. Aphids are a fave of ladybugs so they are a good bug.

[indianadana]

It is all a matter of quantity. One or two ladybugs are nice, twenty of them outside eating aphids are nice. Hundreds of them dying in my house, falling in our food, and crawling on me while I sleep are a plague.

[couponsr4me]

The asian lady beetles do eat aphids and other things. According to one website the beetles more than likely saved Michigan's soybean crops a few years back when there was a massive aphid attack on the plants. They do good, but are often considered a nuisance to most. The do bite as a way of checking for a food source. I'm amazed at how much those little buggers can hurt. They may also cause allergic reactions to include watery eyes and runny nose. The stain and odor they leave when squished is a defensive mechanism to ward off predators.

I dislike them, along with the box elder bugs, which I asked our exterminator about today. I inquired what purpose they serve (other than be annoying) and he said "none". Fine, get rid of them please.

[jimandbeth1]

They may also cause allergic reactions to include watery eyes and runny nose.

OMG, OMG, OMG. I spent a few visits at the alergists office this past spring because DD's eczema was out of control, alergy symptoms, all kinds of stuff just short of her having another asthma episode. They couldnt find anything in their tests because of course it was for mostly foods, then like ragweed and grass. None of her umpteen medicines were working and the stuff that is usually a miracle on her skin wasnt even clearing up the eczema. She is a ladybug finatic, she will find one and hold it between her fingers for who knows how long (amazingly some still live) and she has a bug box that she'll pile them into. How am I going to keep her away from them now that they are coming back? Well, at least I know why now.