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I used to love ladybugs. When I was a little girl, there was not much more exciting than catching a ladybug. I used to paint my nails in ladybug prints. I dressed my daughter in ladybug print outfits when she was a baby. I’ve bought greeting cards with ladybug prints. I have a picture frame with little ladybugs decorated all around the frame. Now when I look at that frame, I have to look twice because I’m sure the ladybugs must be real. (See the ladybugs crawling around the window frame in this photo?)
Several years back, the government brought in an Asian cousin of the ladybug to combat the aphids that plague pecan trees, soybeans and corn. Unfortunately, while that worked, these foreign ladybugs had no natural predators and states like Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia have become plagued by them. They come indoors for winter and they are attracted to light-colored buildings (like the farmhouse where I live). I WANT THEM ALL TO DIE HORRIBLE, TRAGIC, PAINFUL DEATHS BECAUSE I HATE LADYBUGS NOW.
Whew. Just had to get that out. What’s bugging you? Tell me, and a random comment number will be drawn on Monday to win an autographed book from my contemporary backlist! (And if you know how to kill ladybugs, let me know!) :mrgreen:
Posted by Suzanne McMinn on February 10, 2006
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My dad uses a wet/dry vac, fills the tank with water, sucks them up and then flushes them. :twisted:
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Can we switch your lady bugs for my spiders?
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Since I don’t have lady bugs to bug me, I’ll have to rant about something else: inconsiderate people. Was in WalMart shopping for groceries and a woman just stopped her buggy in mid-aisle while she perused the canned good. After a soft “ahem” she moved it and I passed. Next aisle, the same thing. And the next and the next. Ahem! Didn’t she get the message or was she just too wrapped up in herself to even care?
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What does bug me at times is this….
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:three teenagers.
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What’s bugging me now? Fruit flies! I can’t seem to get rid of them. They showed up when I didn’t even have fruit. I find them inside sealed bread bags. *shudder* Make it stop!!
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LET THE LADY BUGS LIVE! :thumbsup:
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We get the lady bugs here in Georgia too. In college, one of the hallways on the third floor in my dorm was infested with them. Just to get to the door to the stairs, you had to walk through the dozens of ladybugs that came in a supposedly closed window. Don’t know how to get rid of them though.
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(Melissa–I hope your kitty is okay!)
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What’s bugging me right now: that I forgot to bring my lunch to work. Hungry!
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The snow is bugging me–we have had WAY too much!!!!
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:rotfl:
Go for it Suzanne!!!
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When I picked it up about 10 min. later to take it back to the fridge, :shock: I found little black spots moving all over it: several dozen. I wasn’t wearing my glasses so I had a closer look: ants…and as soon as I picked up the bottle, they began an upward climb to my hand. Luckily, the bathtub was pretty close so I pried the hot water tap open (can hardly move the cold) and let it pour down on the bottle and my hand.
Ouch, that was some hot water and the ants had the same idea about it. They started crawling beneath my sweatshirt. I think I managed to get them all off because I couldn’t feel any crawling over me later. Some had been washed up further in the bottom of the bathtub, but I think I got all those, too. It really is time to get an ant-trap. I’d noticed them crawling on the floor but this went TOO FAR.
I’m also wondering what’s making a gnawing noise at the pipes around 0200 when all decent creatures should be asleep. Any ideas other than rats?
Come to think of it, our ladybugs don’t look like they used to any more either. Have these cousins spread all over North America? I used to find them cute too. It seems it’s never a good idea to try to import something that will get rid of another insect. :talktothehand: We just seem to end up with another pest of some kind. What eats our regular ladybirds? Don’t they eat aphids?
BTW, I just had to start reading the PAX 2 and then 3–waiting library books or not. I’m really enjoying THIRD SIGHT so far. Since I’m :sick: with headache, sore throat and sniffles, I’m somewhat slow in reading. Second cold this winter whereas I’ve had only 2 colds in the previous 20 years. Once the idea of having to move took hold, I forgot to do my regular routine of taking Vit. C daily. Another BAD thing to blame on that move.:yuck:
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What good are they if they wont do chores?
Do they think I birthed them to sit around so I could admire ‘em? Don’t think so…..:talktothehand:
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Here’s an article I found about them:
Prevention is the most effective step in managing lady beetles. Check the outside of your home for spaces and cracks that may allow insects easy entry. Make any necessary repairs by the end of September.
Install tight-fitting door sweeps or thresholds at the base of all exterior entry doors. Gaps of 1/16 inch or more will permit entry of insects. Seal openings where pipes and wires enter the foundation and siding, for instance, around outdoor faucets, receptacles, gas meters, clothes dryer vents, and telephone/cable TV wires. Holes can be plugged with caulk, cement, urethane expandable foam, steel wool, copper mesh, or other suitable construction sealant. Caulk around windows, doors, chimneys and fascia boards, etc. using a high quality silicone or acrylic latex caulk. Repair gaps and tears in window and door screens. Repair screens in roof and soffit vents, and in bathroom and kitchen fans. Keep siding, eaves and soffits in good repair, replacing damaged areas if necessary, to keep the exterior walls as insect-proof as possible.
Frequently spraying the beetles that have landed on the side of a house with soapy water will reduce the population considerably. Physical exclusion can be supplemented with a residual insecticide barrier. For insecticides to be effective, they must be applied before insects begin to enter buildings, which is early- to mid-October for multicolored Asian beetles. Be sure the product you intend to use is labeled for use on the exterior of buildings. You may wish to consider hiring a professional pest control service. They have the experience and access to residual insecticides to control lady beetles effectively.
Remove lady beetles found indoors with a broom or vacuum. Indoor insecticide sprays are of very limited benefit. Once lady beetles move into wall voids there is no practical control to prevent them from emerging later during winter or spring. The only control is to remove them as they are seen.
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C
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Yea, start talking about naked men.
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:rotfl:
I can just imagine the post you could do…you ought to just title the post that and discuss something else to see if it will work. I noticed the ads changed once before when you were discussing the broken toilet.
Oh and I thought of another insect that bugs me…Camel Crickets…these are huge brown crickets that tend to like to jump on you (or at least me) in the middle of the night as you walk down the hall. I don’t know how they get in the house.
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Hope I’m not to late to get in on the contest?
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