Thankfully a freeze followed closely on this year's invasion and we may be through for this year. Oh I know they are helpful for plants and kill aphids so please forgive me for wishing them away but I'm wearing my vacuum cleaner out trying to keep ahead of them.
.JPG) |
| Looks kind of pretty and harmless on the porch doesn't she? |
 |
| Then she finds a way in and starts bringing her friends. |
ReplyDeletewe rarely see them here.. I had no idea they came in swarms to certain areas.. learn something new here all the time.
love ya bunches
Sonny
I have seen those beetles before, mostly over the garage door. We usually do not get more than a single stray or two in the house. What we do get is disgusting number--cluster flies. Yuck! They are not even cute or have cute little Mother Goose rhymes.
ReplyDeleteEven cute bugs are bugs....I'm glad the invasion didn't last too long.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion (based on no reserach or data) is that this invasion is due to USDA promoting the use of ladybugs for biocontrol and having them sent to farmers over the years. I had an office next to an Ag Research farm, and every fall, they would get caught in the window wells of our offices. They would be 6 inches thick in remains as they died! Our windows were all sealed, but a few made it inside. Anything in abundance can be a nuisance...even sweet little babies.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a swarm of them here in the TX panhandle but when I lived on Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM we went outside once to find the huge elm tree trunks just paved with lady bugs. I had never seen so many in my life. I don't remember them coming in the house though. Here, we get excited when we see a single one. I bet my grandkids only found 2 or 3 all summer long out in my flower bed.
ReplyDeleteSonny
ReplyDeleteOur neighbor walked over the other day and his beard was full of ladybugs. They were quite decorative.
Olga
I do believe they are often referred to as Japanese beetles. I am told that I should love them because they help the plants and that is why some people invite them indoors. This year they got in under the door in the utility room.
Jeanie
Well I think it is over since we had this freeze but it is said they can still return since we're due warm weather again tomorrow.
Tabor
Yes I guess some parts of the country order ladybugs. Guess I should be saving them to sell.
Aunt Betsy
I have seen my outside walls "paved" with them. Some people say they bite but I don't believe I have ever been bitten. I do believe they cause allergic reactions because I sure had breathing problems while they were here.
Yes - they seem to be everywhere right now. I had one on my windshield this morning and it seemed to be content to make the journey to northwest Atlanta. :)
ReplyDeleteLynn
ReplyDeleteThey do have staying power:)
It's a ladybug picnic!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr8vUTm64h0
Too much of anything is annoying. :)
ReplyDeleteWe get a few in the house. Not many...maybe two or three who hitchhike their way in.
Birdie
ReplyDeleteThat was wonderful. Wish there were only 12 at this Ladybug picnic. lol
Talon
They will catch a ride on your clothes or hair. It is odd, however, that they never come in on the dog. Guess her flea medicine works for ladybugs too.
I haven't seen many Lady Bugs but the Box Elder Beetles are swarming. They are also red but have longer bodies.
ReplyDeleteThose lady bugs are so colorful and pretty. My problem here in Hawaii is gnats. They litter my end tables and I have to dust them away. Fortunately, they come only certain times of the year.
ReplyDeleteI have never had these visitors ever. Neither did any of our neighbours. I guess it is not a New York thing.
ReplyDeleteI've seen them swarming at a park in New Mexico. They looked very pretty hanging all over the bushes. But I don't think I would like it if they visited my house in those numbers!
ReplyDeleteWe had a gentleman that trapped them in the forest and made a good living selling them at the local farmers market.
ReplyDeleteThey are way better than those stinky stink beetles that invest the bunkhouse this time of year.
they usually swarm us every year at the end of October, except this year for some reason. one year it was so bad, they covered our front door like a blanket. I was a bit torn cuz i'm kind of a nature lover myself (except for spiders and snakes). we went to home depot and got the heavy duty bug killing stuff. i felt so bad i stayed inside, covering my ears to not hear them being sprayed and let my hubby commit mass ladybug genocide. so i totally hear ya on this, annie. they're cute when they're hanging out solo. thanks for posting the link about them, btw. interesting stuff!
ReplyDeleteAny bugs en masse scare the living daylights our of me.
ReplyDeletetulsamom
ReplyDeleteI had never known the name of those awful bugs but when I looked them up I remembered seeing them. No they definitely are not as cute as ladybugs but every bit as invading. We have started seeing stink bugs too. Ugh!
gigihawaii
Gnats are horrible and seem to be impossible to get rid of until they decide to go away on their own. Gnats tend to get in your nose.
Munir
If you don't have ladybugs in New York, what do you have?
Susan Adcox
They are pretty little things but they are a strange winter bug and definitely are the best looking of the other bugs that descend upon us in the winter months.
Brighid
I have heard that people sell them because they are good for plants. I definitely agree that they are better than stinkbugs and do you know about Box Elder Beetles that tulsamom mentioned? They also are a winter bug and are pretty gross.
namaste
Oh I do not like the mental image of the blanket of the bugs covering your front door.
Pat
I am with you on that!
My youngest daughter spent her freshman year at the University of Alabama last year and she would find lady bugs in her dorm room all the time. She had no idea how the got in there, but they were not her favorites.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who survived the Tent Caterpillar infestation of 2013, I can totally relate to your situation!
ReplyDeleteI DO have a special place in my heart for ladybugs though! I'd scoop them up and put them back outside. And then I'd go watch A Bugs Life! :)
Ugh! I love them outside - they eat aphids - we haven't had any inside.
ReplyDeleteHad a few of them pop up inside the building at work this week. I think they're pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I clap with joy if I manage to see even one! No invasion here in CO.
ReplyDeleteWe are lucky here the bugs die out quickly in October! Sorry it's so much trouble for you. I've seen this on the news before.
ReplyDeleteI'm still being occupied by fruit flies in the kitchen tho-
in CT, i have not seen these, but i remember them invading a telescope site in Texas and you could not step without mashing hundreds.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted some in Hawaii to eat a whole array of tiny aphid like bugs I could give her. I'm sorry they all decided to stay with you instead of spreading themselves around.
ReplyDeleteif I leave the bath window open! I am greeted by many oft the little ladies -kind of cute but outdoors please,
ReplyDelete1 Tablespoon Tempo in 2 gallons of water. That'll do it.
ReplyDeletecube
ReplyDeleteI tried never to spend enough time in my dorm room to notice bugs.
heartinhand
You win the grossest bug contest. I looked up Tent Caterpillars and they are absolutely horrible. I saw one picture that had them totally covering a car, tires and all.
Riot Kitty
Yes, the destruction of aphids is their biggest selling point.
G.B.Miller
A few might be pretty cool.
Barb
If you want to clap with glee some more go to Birdie's comment and click on the Ladybug picnic video link.
Snaggle Tooth
I do not like fruit flies and believe I would take ladybugs over then any day.
Brite Mist
I do hear that Texas has them worse than Oklahoma.
Kay
People sell and ship ladybugs to different parts of the country. I wonder if Hawaii would allow them to enter. I doubt California would.
JeanMac
Yes I agree that they are much cuter outside.
Cliff
What is Tempo? I can only find it as a musical term and as the name of a restaurant. If I figure out what it is, do I feed it to the ladybugs or spray them with it? We are getting warm weather again this weekend so it will be interesting to see if they return.
I don't mind bugs. Have even been accuse of being a 'bugger', but these beetles are not bugs there varmints. I just finished demoing a small barn on my parents property -it was absolute horror when I sawed out one portion of drop ceiling - a hundred pounds of dead beetle bodies raining down upon my face -dislike them with a passion.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen this many at one time...I always assumed they traveled alone!
ReplyDelete