weird lady bugs

angus_guy · #1 10/19/04, 05:58 PM

Does any one have an idea what these weird lady bug like things are that stink?

They swarm around the house and "some" maples?

uncle Will in In. · #2 10/19/04, 06:09 PM

You got it right.. They are weird stinkin lady bugs. I think some terrorists dumped them on us a few years ago. They want to spend the winter inside your house. Unless it's tighter than the town drunk, they will be in there. The important thing to remember about them is if one gets in your mouth, either swallow or spit. Whatever you do, don't chew!

Meg Z · #3 10/19/04, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle Will in In.

The important thing to remember about them is if one gets in your mouth, either swallow or spit. Whatever you do, don't chew!

And once again the Voice of Experience is heard in the land!!

(How'd that taste, Uncle Will?) :haha: :haha: :haha:

Meg

Pony · #4 10/19/04, 06:39 PM

Although they're cosmically yucky and gross, they're not part of a terrorist plot. No terrorist is that clever!

The Asian lady beetle invasion is actually the result of someone trying to do something good by introducing a beneficial insect. (I remember reading somewhere that it was actually the DNR of one of the northern midwest states.)

Unfortunately, a ladybug is not always a ladybug, and the Asian lady beetle has no natural predator in the USA. (And who can blame the predators? The darned bugs bite and they stink.)

So, the invasive lady beetles continue to take over. I can't tell you what it's like to see the whole side of a white house covered with them, or what it's like to try to drive the tractor through swarms of the nasty things. Sort of The Birds Meet The Amityville Horror...

My organically-minded MIL was forced to actually use a pesticide because she had to fight her way into the house, and once she got in there, the vacuum wasn't tough enough to handle the huge population inside.

<shudder>

Pony!

Tinker · #5 10/19/04, 08:38 PM

Yea, it is that time of year again. Most of mine are stuck between the screens and the windows. These buggers DO bite!!!! I was painting a barn a few years ago that was covered in these things. They were everywhere, and every once and a while, I would feel a sharp "pinch".

I'm not sure regular bug sprays work on them---I know Lowes sells one labled just for them. They love to get "behind" your vinyl siding, and you may see a dark spot where they are getting in and out between the siding panels--looks like spilled liquid.

Even the birds won't eat them--they taste too bad. Never had one directly in my mouth, but have drank drinks several times that tasted terrible, and when I looked in the glass, there was one floating in there.

Pony · #6 10/21/04, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinker

Yea, it is that time of year again. Most of mine are stuck between the screens and the windows. These buggers DO bite!!!! I was painting a barn a few years ago that was covered in these things. They were everywhere, and every once and a while, I would feel a sharp "pinch".

I've been told by so-called "experts" that the bugs aren't biting, they're just tasting... So, those little tastes leave welts on my arms, but hey! They're only having a nibble, right?

DH was doing plumbing in the crawl for the folks, and said that the ALB were about 1 or 2 inches thick on the walls of the crawl space. <shudder again> Ooogy! The folks bombed the inside of the house as well, and I'm sure they used an ALB specific chemical, as MIL did a lot of research online before they decided to go this route.

Pony! <scratching arms and skeeving out>

Cindy in KY · #7 10/21/04, 05:22 AM

They came here Tuesday afternoon. It was very warm Tuesday. Millions of them. Probably because someone harvested their soybeans nearby. I live on top of a hill and I could see them coming from all directions.

I put liquid Sevin in my big pump sprayer and sprayed the whole outside of the house. They were going down the back of my shirt bitting me. I was like a mad woman with a sprayer. All my windows now are covered in white dried goo. When Steve got home, the whole front porch was covered in DEAD ladybugs, really crunchy walking.

gobug · #8 10/21/04, 08:17 AM

Boy am I glad we don't have those in CO. I hope they don't find us either.

Sevin is an organophosphate. As such, it is pretty toxic to you. It certainly would have a good contact kill, but it is not too repellent once it dries.

I would suggest spraying the structure with Home Defense, active ingredient Bifenthrin. It has a long life, and is extremely repellent. Not only would you get a good knock down effect, like Sevin, but after it dried, they would land on it and leave quickly.