Damn Ladybugs

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Does anyone know a good way to stop ladybugs from coming inside? The cold weather drives them indoors every fall/winter and it's particularly bad this year. I swear I've vacuumed up 100 of the fuckers in the last week. One day I must have vacuumed around 50 in a sitting, back in early December. They'd colonized the top part of some drapes that loop around a metal pole, started pouring out of the looped part when I agitated it to vacuum up a couple around the window. It was like an invasion.

I'm thinking about getting some rubber weatherstripping and putting it around the bottom of my windows (so I can still open them), then maybe some spray foam to seal the top. Last year I just carried a handvac to every room with me and whenever I heard that faint "pop" "pop" "pop" as they'd ram light globes (attracted to the heat/light I guess?) I'd run up and vacuum that thing up.

Does anybody have any experience with these fuckers?

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

You're talking about Coccinellidae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae), right?

Maybe it generally doesn't get cold enough in the UK, or maybe it's because I don't live on the ground floor, but I don't get problems with them coming inside.

They do have a nasty bite though, I do know that from personal experience. But that was at a beach rather than at home.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

You're talking about Coccinellidae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae), right?

Maybe it generally doesn't get cold enough in the UK, or maybe it's because I don't live on the ground floor, but I don't get problems with them coming inside.

They do have a nasty bite though, I do know that from personal experience. But that was at a beach rather than at home.
Yeah, those things. When it gets cold (down to the 20s-30s) it's an invasion. One of them bit my leg two days ago when I was taking a shit. Not fun.

[Luc]

i used to get lady bugs but not that bad :unsure: i dont got any advice other than never open ur window from the end of summer to beginining of spring and always keep it covered by curtains or whatever u got. I do that and havent had them in a couple years

kinda too late tho :lol:

[RedBaltico]

Well ladybugs are the cutest bugs I ever known, and from reading your comments, I didn't know they can bite :O I have loved them since my childhood and were glad every time they flew inside. We don't have them as much as you have. But only solution would be to put a net on the window frame so they couldn't pass it. Usually in my home country people used to put nets like that against mosquitoes. I would not recommend using any other methods, so no one gets hurt :)

[Sentinel]

At my moms cottage, we have a wasp problem. For some reason which I really don't understand, they will every spring build a nest in the wooden shithouse. I'd understand if it was the only building, but there are plenty of other sheds etc.

The insidious thing is that as long as the nest is small, they won't bother people using the crapper, just buzz in their papery thingy. But once their society becomes large enough, they start considering the entire building their territory and attack anyone.

When I was a little younger and more brutal, I used to terminate them with a spraycan and a lighter. I really detest insects, even though I also find them a bit fascinating.

[skitty]

Never heard of anyone being bothered or attacked by ladybugs. Wait 'til you run into stink bugs-they're maneaters:D!

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Well ladybugs are the cutest bugs I ever known, and from reading your comments, I didn't know they can bite :O I have loved them since my childhood and were glad every time they flew inside. We don't have them as much as you have. But only solution would be to put a net on the window frame so they couldn't pass it. Usually in my home country people used to put nets like that against mosquitoes. I would not recommend using any other methods, so no one gets hurt :)
The winter's almost over, so I may look into putting a screen in my windows. I'm on the second floor, though, and I'm afraid of heights. Ack.

[Decolonize The Left]

Does anyone know a good way to stop ladybugs from coming inside? The cold weather drives them indoors every fall/winter and it's particularly bad this year. I swear I've vacuumed up 100 of the fuckers in the last week. One day I must have vacuumed around 50 in a sitting, back in early December. They'd colonized the top part of some drapes that loop around a metal pole, started pouring out of the looped part when I agitated it to vacuum up a couple around the window. It was like an invasion.

I'm thinking about getting some rubber weatherstripping and putting it around the bottom of my windows (so I can still open them), then maybe some spray foam to seal the top. Last year I just carried a handvac to every room with me and whenever I heard that faint "pop" "pop" "pop" as they'd ram light globes (attracted to the heat/light I guess?) I'd run up and vacuum that thing up.

Does anybody have any experience with these fuckers?

Yeah - they're trying to keep warm.

Your best bet is to seal off their entrances into your home. Screens on windows, weather seal the doors, etc... Or you can just wait until it gets warm again. ;)

[Prometeo liberado]

The only effective way to combat the lady bug is with large amounts of pixie dust, a cavalry of my little ponies, glitter, puffy paint and a huge Justin Bieber doll. Throw in some hugs and a sleep over and you should be alright. Also consult Agent Ducky, Vox Populi and Kitty Pain as they are our resident specialists in this matter.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Might I suggest resolving the problem with a generous dose of fire?

[Prometeo liberado]

Might I suggest resolving the problem with a generous dose of fire?

Sweet.

[Sasha]

Ladybugs are mass murderers, one if the few animals that remain killing their prey (plant lice) even when their not hungry. Which is double shitty because those lice are often the herds of ants.
Vulture-capitalists of the garden.

[Popular Front of Judea]

Does anyone know a good way to stop ladybugs from coming inside? The cold weather drives them indoors every fall/winter and it's particularly bad this year. I swear I've vacuumed up 100 of the fuckers in the last week. One day I must have vacuumed around 50 in a sitting, back in early December. They'd colonized the top part of some drapes that loop around a metal pole, started pouring out of the looped part when I agitated it to vacuum up a couple around the window. It was like an invasion.

I'm thinking about getting some rubber weatherstripping and putting it around the bottom of my windows (so I can still open them), then maybe some spray foam to seal the top. Last year I just carried a handvac to every room with me and whenever I heard that faint "pop" "pop" "pop" as they'd ram light globes (attracted to the heat/light I guess?) I'd run up and vacuum that thing up.

Does anybody have any experience with these fuckers?
I rely on the spiders to keep the lady bug population down...

[PC LOAD LETTER]

There's been a retreat in the last few days - I think the last few nights of bitter cold may have killed most of them off that weren't already in people's houses. Starting when it gets warm again I'm going to seal the crap out of this place.

[Decolonize The Left]

There's been a retreat in the last few days - I think the last few nights of bitter cold may have killed most of them off that weren't already in people's houses. Starting when it gets warm again I'm going to seal the crap out of this place.

I see your location is SE US. If that's true than you're probably in for some humid summers - no? If so, a well placed and sealed screen on all your windows would be a better choice than weatherstripping the actual window.

[Quail]

I've never known ladybirds to come inside like that :ohmy: I also never knew they could bite. I used to always be picking them up as a child (and this summer had them crawling over my hands to show my son), and I was never bitten.

[Lynx]

I suspect these are not ladybugs native to North America, but a species imported from Asia to help farmers fight aphids. See Harmonia axyridis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonia_axyridis) They are displacing native ladybugs.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

My friend gets gnats really bad. So he pours some vodka in a cup with mountain dew and soap and gets like a million in there. I don't know if that would work with ladybugs though. If all else fails you could just bug bomb separate rooms at different times.

[Sean]

God, when I was in the midwest of the states I encountered these biblical asian ladybug plagues. There's no good way to stop them. I did have one idea I never tried out: since they naturally are looking for nooks and crannies you could probably make some kind of large wooden box with tiny ladybug sized compartments in it. They might prefer crawling into that to plinking against light fixtures and you could shake the thing outside at night if it collected many.

[Leftsolidarity]

I think I used to hear about people mixing certain things (stuff like ART said about the vodka) and using it kind of as a deterent or something for ladybugs. Have you looked for any home remedies online that might repel lady bugs?