Ladybugs

[gizmo]

The past three weeks have been brutal with Ladybugs. Not a sexist thing but I can't take them anymore. My cabin was actually covered solid with them. I don't know what the heck is attracting this pesky bugs but no other cabin around me seems to have the problem. What attracts these bug?? My cabin is a slate color with white roof shingles. I have a lot of pine trees around me also. The weather should beat the heck out of them this week as it will go below freezing.

http://users.adelphia.net/~gizmo/

[farmerdoug]

They are looking for a place to winter.  The freeze will not hurt them in the short run.  But the cold weather will push them into your cabin for sure.  Then in the late winter you will really be in for it.  We have them by the bucket fulls in the corners of our out buildings and greenhouses.  I even find them in masses in the boxes of squash I haul to market.  They go dormant so the freezing weather will not hurt them.

Farmerdoug

[woodhick]

I feel your pain >:(.  I have had these pesky things for the past several years and they get much worse every year.  At first they would last a couple weeks then be gone, last year we had them all winter .  Local agriculture expert said after the first frost and it warmed back up, that's when they would start swarming. He was right as that is what happened last year.  This year he recommended spraying house before they swarmed.  I used a product he recommended called Tempo, it is made by Bayer.  $40 for a small bottle , but my wife said she couldn't handle the things again this year so I sprayed the second week of October.  I've only found one bug in house, but we have swept hundreds off of the walks and window sills outside, so it worked.  according to the extension agent it won't do any good to spray after they have swarmed but I would definatley give it a try anyway. Good Luck ;)

[gizmo]

I still want to know why they pick me out of all the cabins around? What is the attracting factor?? After deer season I think I'll fog the place with foggers.. That should take care of those pesky bugs. They'll meet the end of their journey when the Shop Vac gets fired up and the canister gets carried to the fire pit. Cremation is too good for them but I want to make sure they are Finito!!

[Furby]

The light color roof may be one reason.
Also, does your place have a lot of cracks/gaps for hiding places?
Had both ladybugs and Boxelder bugs real bad the last several years here.
Last fall wasn't too bad as I was still working on the addition.
This fall I only had/have a hand full of ladybugs, but when the sun hits the siding...........
The Boxelder bugs come a swarming! >:(

[gizmo]

If I had the walls drywalled on the addition I am sure they wouldn't get in. But they do tend to slip through the littlest openings.......Not tooo many stink bugs this year. Last year was bad for them...

[Woodcarver]

It's difficult to keep the ladybugs and boxelder bugs out.  Our son built a new home a couple of years ago.  They have problems with both.

Soapy water sprayed on the boxelder bugs will kill them.  Doesn't seem to have much effect on the ladybugs.  Pyretrim sprays will kill the ladybugs. It's not fast acting, though.  Some will probably get inside before they die.  >:(     

[Furby]

Yup, soap and water work GREAT!
My addition is tight enough that they can't get in, just behind the siding. The old part of the house has not been redone yet and they just come right in. >:(

[Max sawdust]

Do the bugs have a bad smell when crushed?
If so those are not lady bugs those are Asian Beatles.  The suckers bit too
They are an introduced species that were originally brought over to keep smaller bugs out of soy bean fields from what I understand.

I suspect they gather on the south or warmest side of your cabin, maybe other cabins have more shade.

My suggestion is to start killing them with spray or anything, otherwise you will have a house full in spring.
max

[gizmo]

They smell pretty earthy when smashed. I was going to spray all the seams with SEVIN. That should work. Any other suggestions on what to use. Some of the bugs are Yellow with dots unless those are the females...

[woodhick]

As I said in earlier post .     TEMPO  It worked great for me. It's made by Bayer Cropscience and most farm supply stores and garden centers around here carry it.

[beenthere]

I have very good luck with Ortho Home Defense. Comes in a gallon container with a spring loaded sprayer that is quite handy. Spray around the door steps and stoops in front of the garage, around the siding where they collect, and on and around the woodpile (where they like to collect and ride into the warm house on the wood).  Says it lasts or 3 months. I spray about every 3-4 weeks and apparently works well if all the dead asian beetles are good enough evidence. This is the second year it has worked for me. The beetles walk over it and die. Don't have to spray it on them 'personnaly' like. 

Great for spiders and daddy long legs. Also I think it has an effect on the wasp population, and expect the carpenter bees have a bit of trouble with it too.

But alas, it is a chemical. 
That works for me   ;D

[gizmo]

My son has a half gallon of Ortho left after he got done hunting his carpenter ants so I'll give that a try..He said it killed ants very quickly..Thanks for the info.........

[Paschale]

Those pesky things are back in spades.  I HATE 'EM!!!!!!   >:(

who else has got 'em?

[beenthere]

Very few this year.

[CHARLIE]

We have a few showing up in the finished basement.  I think they are the ones that got in last Fall that hid and hibernated. Now that it is warming up, they are coming out of hibernation to die on the carpet from hunger.  I hate them too!

[SwampDonkey]

I see the odd one around. Last fall when it was almost 80 F for a week in mid October the outside of the house was covered in them. I'm cursed with house flies.

[Max sawdust]

Not a lot of Asian beetles this year thank goodness ;D  House flies not bad either ;D
Already saw a deer tick on my brothers pant leg.  Not a good thing since Lyme is real prevalent here. :(
Max

[Burlkraft]

We had a few all winter long. I was doing some remodeling this winter and had to do some wiring and I found a major hide out for them.....The insulation on top of the basement wall. I found thousands of them in there. So....down came all the insulation and out came the shop vac ;D ;D ;D ;D

Box Elder bugs on the other hand are back in droves :( :( :(

[CHARLIE]

Max Sawdust, my neighbor lost his dog last month to Lyme disease.  I noticed we have quite a few ticks in the woods around here so I really have to watch for them.  I spray my lawn for them around the perimeter of the woods.  Lymes is a sneaky disease.  Four years ago I took my dog in for the annual heartworm check and found she had Lymes.  We caught it soon enough and got rid of it and have her vaccinated every year now. 

[Onthesauk]

Seems like I've also read somewhere along the way that they have a defined migration path from higher to lower ground and back.  May be your cabin is simply in the way.  I had a colony winter in my barn one year and then disapeared in the Spring.

My wife has also been using Home Defense for the last year.  Sprays the thresholds, Spring and Fall.  Has made a big difference in the numbers of spiders and bugs in the house. 

[SwampDonkey]

I wonder if moth balls along the edge of the basement wall outside away from the drip line would thwart insects. Might be a bad idea with pet cats and dogs around, gotta think it over. I do know coons will chew on them.  :

[metalspinner]

Don't organic gardeners pay $$$$$ for lady bugs?  Maybe an oppertunity is swarming  on your cabin?

[logwalker]

I was just going to make the same suggestion. There is money in them bugs. Sure wish I had 'em around. :D

[SwampDonkey]

I'll take the money. ;D