I was told they get rid of aphids and other small parasitic insects. I'd rather have a swarm of bugs that protect my plants than a swarm of caterpillars or aphids wreaking havoc around my garden.
They're massing to hibernate. If you can tell where they're getting in the house, you might be able to lay black plastic bags nearby (layered & staked to the ground) or layers of folded tarpaper, & they'll be attracted to that because of the heat. When they finish massing, add a light layer of mulch over the plastic bags or tarpaper. They won't come out from under that until spring. If they keep coming in the house & you can't seal up their ingress, maybe you can vacuum them up in a low-powered hand-held vacuum cleaner & then store them in the bottom of the refrigerator, or in sphagnum in some corner of the garage or tool shed, until spring when the garden needs them.
-paghat the ratgirl
In article , snipped-for-privacy@cfl.rr.com says... :) I was told they get rid of aphids and other small parasitic insects. :) I'd rather have a swarm of bugs that protect my plants than a swarm of :) caterpillars or aphids wreaking havoc around my garden. :) :) :) Until you have to pay to replace the carpet ruined by the stains...have to live with the foul odor when they accumulate in the walls.. or have children effected with asthma much like what inner city children deal with from German cockroach infestations.
I've had them invest our house as well. I felt so guilty wanting to squash ladybugs--they seem such a symbol of innocence and good. That is until they start flying at your face kamikaze style and keep you up all night flying into walls and window.
There was a great article in Southern Living (I think it was SL) one or two years ago (how is that for specifics?). The author had a similar experience with lady bug infestation, and I read it nodding my head through each paragraph in appreciation as her experience was just like mine. She managed to capture some of the ladybugs and save them in an opaque container that she kept in the fridge until spring when she released them in her garden. She placed wet paper towels in the container for moisture and raisins for the bugs to feed. Interestingly, she found that the lady bugs liked yellow raisins...not black.
Good luck! heidi
gary wrote:
The Lady bugs are swarming again. What a mess. They got in the house and almost cover the walls. When a light is turned on in the evening they are attracted to it and make more of a mess.
Gary
I draw a distinction between the lovable (and non-biting) red ladybug and the orange-brown (and biting!) asiatic or mexican beetle (call 'em what you want).
Now that I know the difference (and have been bitten a few times), it's the vaccuum cleaner for the little buggers. Along with the verdammt box elder bugs. Kill 'em all (box elder and biting beetles) and let God sort 'em out.
It used to be SOOO easy with ladybugs... Ran into a swarm of the beetles a few days ago. Sounded like hitting little M&Ms...
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