help please

i didnt know where to put this so i am asking here.

okay i know this is going to sound bad and probably mean but how do you get rid of lady bugs?

my sister just bought a house and it is infested with them. i mean infested. i know as a gardener they are really benificial but she cant live with them. i mean they are in the roof the attice the insulation everywhere. you walk in this house and they are flying on the curtains and everything. its awful.

we set off some bombs in her house but that only took care of so many. its like they live here and made babies here. she wont have afids though. hehe



so if anyone has ideas let me know. thanks marie

Ive heard of them doing this but dont remember what you can do about it. Sorry. I hope someone comes in who can help.


http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/insects/ladybug.htm

I hope this might help, I just searched real quick and this was the first one I came acroos but seemed to have alot of info.

This message was edited Mar 20, 2004 10:27 AM

imzadi,

Our own webmaster Dave, had this same problem a few years ago when he lived in Tenn. You might ask him what his out come was.

Donna

here's a link that may help

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Other/goodpest/note107.html

All it takes is a little opening in a window or siding for ladybugs to get into a house;make sure all cracks around windows, doors, clap boards, pipes, ect. are sealed up; no gaurantees tho, as they will always come back the way it seems. Hard to get rid of them the way it seems unless you have an exterminator come in

Could try using the Vacuum Cleaner or building ladybug houses just for them to occupy.

Are you sure they are lady bugs? I heard the Asian Beetle looks very similar to the lady bug and would do that. If they aren't lady bugs, I'd call a professional to get rid of them.

yes they are lady bugs and today we saw some asian beetles too. so we have both. we had the bug man out today but he said there really isnt too much on the market right now for either of them.

he did say that heat kills them. so maybe this summer will help. thanks everyone and waiting to see if Dave shows up to offer any advice before i email him. thanks

imzadi, those lady bugs hibernate all winter long in the attics and walls of your house. If you notice, on warm days, they come out and then if it turns cold you will only see a few of them. We have had a problem for a few years and yes, they are unbelievably annoying. I don't know how to get rid of them, but I might suggest calling an exterminator. They may have a suggestion or be able to get rid of them. Even for a fee, it would be worth it to be rid of the pests! And, while you're all thinking, ladybugs in your house mean good luck and you shouldn't kill them....I say, give me one or two not a houseful!

If she has so many of them, it sounds like they've been living in that house for many years.

This message was edited Mar 21, 2004 11:12 PM

this house has been on the market a good two years but they said it was exterminated just before she bought it. the exterminator did come out but said the thing of it is they get in the insulation where the bug stuff cant get them.

its awful. we( i learned how to work these contraptions.) will keep bombing though. eventaully when all cracks are sealed and cover there wont be any more. thankfully they dont breed in there. thanks all

I contacted our local nursery about your situation, and this is the reply that they sent me.

"There are some species that come inside. I would not advise a smoke bomb – that is not good for the human residents. Just vacuum them up and put them back outside – they are beneficial and do no harm inside."



ruth kinler

redenta's garden shops

p 817. 469. 6786

f 817. 469. 8344

ruth@redentas.com

www.redentas.com

imzadi, I went to our local extension office today and asked if he had any ideas. He said if you can find where they are getting in you could close up the gap and sprinkle a little Seven Dust there (sorry folks I don't use chemicals, that's just what he said). He also said to put a nylon in your vacuum and suck them up and let them go outside. It seems its the only way to get rid of the pests. To add insult to injury here, he said they last forever and ever. I have a flyer he gave me about them. I will read up and see if there is any other info I can give you. Kathy :)

They wont be in there for ever my sister says. she is threatening her hubby she is going to take the insulation out and put new in. Heheh They are currently caulking up every hole they can find. I tell you what i will never look at a lady bug the same.

email this guy with your ladybug or Asian beetle questions. I forget what all he said in our MG class. drlewis@iastate.edu He is a prof at Iowa State University.

Like folks have said, about all you can do is make it hard for them to get inside in the first place, and vacuum up the ones which are inside. We had them really bad at the university where I used to work. The house our offices were in was an old one, and had so many little cracks and crevices there was no way to really seal it up tight. Every year this one gal's office was just full of the buggers!

We get dozens of them every fall and most manage to live thru the winter in our plant room. I don't kill them but on the other hand we have never had the infestation you are describeing. I have heard of people using vaccum cleaners to remove them by the thousands. They really are a good insect to have in the yarden but if they have such an over abundance I think I would relocate a few thousand several miles away from my home. Like near a nursery or greenhouse.

I replied in "Do you have ladybugs" thread.
Bernie

I had a lady bug "hatch" a couple years ago. What a mess! A hundred bugs is one thing...a thousand is another. Say what you want. It's possible to have too many. We sprayed and sprayed...set off bombs, etc. The bombs helped more than anything. I read somewhere that if you kill one by crunching (sorry!!!) they put off a scent which attracts others. That did seem to be happening. Also read that the gov't does think they are "swarming" in certain areas depending on climate. They also seem to go to the warm corners of a room. They don't need much of a hole to come in either.

I feel for you!

we just want them gone!!! to many is way to many!!! i wouldnt wis this on anyone. much less my sister. its awful

(psst....aren't they high in protein? might be good in stir fry!) (and they ARE a bit crunchy!) (They do tend to need a little salt tho, or at least some hot vinegar.)

Other than that....vacuum them up, pitch 'em outside. (Hate to see good food go to waste tho.)

Shoe, Your a mess! Have some Asian Lady Beetle along with your possum, huh?

Imzadi, if you have access to a fax, email me the number and i will fax this brochure I got from the extension office to you.

Kathy

i dont have a fax.

Shoe no thanks.!!!!!!! hehe

My sister says someone is supposed to come out agin today so maybe they will be some help. i doubt it but everything is worth a try.

Okay...Imzadi....go to this link and you will find the publication.

www.ca.uky.edu/ces/ In the search box, type in ENT-64. It will bring it up for you and then you can print it out.

Hope this helps you. Kathy

Doesn't tell us anything we didn't know. Our shop vac is sitting in the kitchen. We have thousnads around here. It was 70º yesterday & sunny so they really got going.
Bernie