[fyrflymommy]

the ladybugs are beginnning to invade my apartment. they somehow got inside my windows....then my silly mother opened one ("oh they wont come in"). and now there are about 10 in my living room. i hate them i hate them. when i lived w/ my parents, they would have sooooo many of them in the master bedroom, coming in from the a/c, that my dad would vacuum them off the walls.

please please tell me how to get rid of them!! nontoxic safe for toddler way? i want to try gettin rid of them myself, and use the landlord as a last resort since she'll probly spray the whole darn apt with toxic crap.

thank you.

 

[Yamilla]

I hope SOMEONE has some good advice for you. These inbasions of ladybugs is just AWFUL!!

:

 

[AnnMarie]

Send them my way. LOL I love ladybugs. We have them in our house, but they don't bother me. I only have a few though. How about catching them and putting them back outside if they just came in?

 

[Trishy]

We are being invaded too! Ours are coming in around the air conditioner casing in dh's bedroom window. I have been sucking them up with the dustbuster and letting them go outside. I am calling my landlord this morning and letting him know that since our handyman never came back to seal this that sonething needs to be done that does not involve pesticides immediately.

 

[Potty Diva]

Oh I have heard ladybugs are supposed to bring good luck, or prosperity..can't remember which.

There was actually a post about it here I beleive.

 

[fyrflymommy]

i did a search here and came up with 1 ladybug thread, but it didnt say how to ged rid of them w/ the exception of one person saying they used peppermint soap??

 

[Potty Diva]

I'm sorry Fyre, the thread must have been from another board, sorry.

 

[flutemandolin]

If they're the same as what I have, they are not true ladybugs but an Asian beetle that was imported years ago to control aphid populations. This time of year they seek shelter indoors, unlike true ladybugs that find shelter in bark, leaf litter, etc. I've heard there's no good way to control them once inside; if there are any little cracks anywhere they will live in the walls and keep coming out all winter. But they do not reproduce inside. The best way to control them is by vacuuming. I did come up with an idea to trap them though...I left an end of a cucumber sitting on the table, and when I saw it later there were about 5 beetles on it. I picked up the piece and threw it outside (probably letting in about 5 more beetles in the process...

: )

I wonder if the reason there are so many of them around is that no birds want to eat them, they smell so bad!!! Wanna hear something REALLY gross? Yesterday I picked up a piece of cookie that one of the kids left out and took a bite. It was oatmeal, and I THOUGHT I was chewing on a tough oat hull...then I tasted it, it was one of the beetles!!!

 

[fyrflymommy]

flutemandolin: eeeewww!!!

wahwah....i cant stand these bugs! should i just tell my landlord and have her deal with it?

 

[princess buttercup]

I'm thinking that I read somewhere that cinnamon repels ladybugs. off to search.

 

[AnnMarie]

Quote:

Originally posted by flutemandolin Wanna hear something REALLY gross? Yesterday I picked up a piece of cookie that one of the kids left out and took a bite. It was oatmeal, and I THOUGHT I was chewing on a tough oat hull...then I tasted it, it was one of the beetles!!!

:LOL

:LOL

This link might be helpful: http://www.pestproducts.com/ladybugs.htm

 

[Trishy]

Well the maintenance man has come and gone and the buggers are still getting in. I think I am going to have to seal the window off. Does anyone know if they can eat through plastic?

 

[fyrflymommy]

celestial: as far as i can tell, the bugs are red.

princess buttercup: OT--princess bride is my favorite movie! back to subject.....so i should sprinkle a bunch of cinnamon in my windowsills?

 

[AnnMarie]

Here's a link that shows the Asian ones: http://www.ent.orst.edu/urban/Harmonia.html

 

[fyrflymommy]

thanx for the link. my bugs are plain ladybugs. that's somewhat of a relief.

and it's nice to know that i'm not the only gal w/ bug invaders!

i jokingly told my mom that she had opened the portal to ladybug hell....

 

[fyrflymommy]

eeek i was wrong! at closer inspection, the bugs are orangeish! eew they must be the asian buggies. i told my dad and he said you cant kill them...that i hafta wait for them to croak or vacuum them up.

 

[zen_bliss]

eek! i always thought of ladybugs as benevolent wonderful creatures. i didn't know there were evil imposters!

 

[Nu_Mommy_2003]

... http://www.ipm.msu.edu/asianladybeetle.htm
... Just wondering has anyone found a way to rid them yet

 

[Undercover Hippie]

We had them last fall and the only solution was to vacuum them up. I only did it in the bedroom though, because I did not want any flying into my mouth at night. Gross! I left them alone elsewhere, they really do not hurt anything. They are trying to hibernate in cracks they find in your outer siding because they normally would hibernate on cliffs... unfortunately sometimes those cracks lead indoors! Even if there is a natural product that keeps them away it would be tough to use because you'd need to put it on your siding and inside your walls where they are gathering.

The PP mentioned this link but I'll reiterate it, the FAQs answer every question asked here I think.

http://www.ipm.msu.edu/beetleFAQ.htm#2

 

[JLav]

I've dealt with ladybug/asian beetle invasions for years...I've never found anything the keeps them from coming in. I just had to vacuum them up and let them go outside. I knew that they were just going to come back inside...but I couldn't bring myself to kill them
Good luck.