How To Get Rid Of Ladybugs or Asian Lady Beetles

They aren't really Ladybugs but since that is what everyone calls them, that is how I titled this post. Ladybugs are helpful and useful insects that you don't want to kill. I am not sure if Asian Lady Beetles are helpful or useful, they probably are but they are also total pests when they come by the millions trying to gain entry into your home.

 

Yesterday on October 28th they swarmed our neighborhood in numbers greater than we had ever experienced before. They crawl into every nook and cranny of your home, get in your hair and hitch a ride on your clothes. It was a plague of Biblical proportions. Plus they stink when you smash or excite them and they bite. I got a few bites yesterday.

So here is my plan of action: I am going to buy and use this spray which has excellent reviews and is a best seller at Amazon.com

Suspend Sc Insecticide
Flea, Tick, Roach, Ant, Spider, Wasp, Gnat, Fly
Professional Pest Control Product
Price: $38.50
Free Shipping

•   The Same Products Pest Control Companies Use
•   Active Ingredient: Deltamethrin -75%
•   One pint Suspend SC makes up to 64 gallons of solution
•   Indoors and outdoors, including food handling areas
•   Target Pest: Ants, Carpenter ants, Carpet beetles, Firebrats, Fleas, Gnats, Midges, Centipedes, Millipedes, Pantry pests, Silverfish, Ticks, Bees, Bedbugs, Boxelder bugs, Cecid Flies, Cockroaches, Crickets, Stable flies, House flies, Cluster flies, Horseflies, Elm leaf beetles, Ground beetles, Moths, Midges, Hornets, Killer bees, Lice, Mosquitoes, Multicolored asian lady beetles, Pillbugs, Scorpions, Sowbugs, Spiders, Yellowjackets, Wasps, Formosan, and Eastern subterranean termites.
•    Lasts up to 3 months after application
•   Cannot be shipped to: NY, AK, CT. 

This all sounds pretty good to me!!

Here is a sprayer, if you don't already have one:

Ladybug Wars

After the first year of welcoming Ladybugs into our home as carriers of good luck, I found that this was just a myth. The following years have been all out war. I found that spraying my windows, outside and inside walls with Raid "Ant and Roach" spray was fairly effective. But last year only a few Ladybugs showed up on our doorstep in October, so I thought that I was either winning the war or their numbers were just dwindling.

I was wrong, as usual. This year they came back with a vengeance. They caught me totally unaware and unprepared. Their numbers have greatly increased and their immune systems are in top notch shape. Someone needs to be studying their immune systems instead of developing all of these wacky flu vaccines.

The first day of their return was in swarms of Biblical proportions. My Grandchildren were here and had planned to spend that beautiful, sunny, Autumn day in the great outdoors. They eventually gave up that dream and complained to me that the Ladybugs were being overly annoying to the point of aggression. I went out with them a few times and we had to stop at the door to scrape them off of one another's clothing before coming back into the house.

I jumped online with my speedy dial-up to see what to do since I had no Raid available. The article that I read suggested Lemon scented household cleaner, any would do. I tried it and it seemed to work as well as the Raid. But even Raid couldn't have kept them out in these numbers and with this determination.

When my DH got home from work on the second day of the attack. He had heard from others who were experiencing the same battles, that Lemon scented candles burning inside one's home could turn away these invaders. He also heard that Wasp and Hornet spray would kill them. I have never tried this but desperate people have desperate ways.

Of course, I had no Lemon scented candles but he had also heard that they don't like Blueberry candles. Believe it or not, I did happen to have one Blueberry scented candle in my candle drawer. With a feeling of this being our last great hope, I triumphantly lit the Blueberry candle in our only bedroom window which happens to be the weak point of our defense.

It really did a great job, I am not saying that it was 100% effective but it was about 89% effective and that is really good when dealing with Ladybugs. Next year I will be armed with both Lemon and Blueberry candles. I will also have Raid "Wasp and Hornet" spray on hand just in case things get ugly.