How to Get Rid of Ladybugs

Ladybugs, or lady beetles, used to be pretty little bugs that we welcomed into our gardens to eat aphids, white flies and other garden pests. No longer. In the 1980's, the U.S. Department of Agriculture imported Asian beetles that look very much like the native ladybug beetles ("Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home...") but had an appetite for garden pests that was just over the voracious line on the scale. In addition to being great pest-eradicators though, these non-native beetles had no natural predators to keep them under control. Beginning in the 1990's, they replaced the benign little ladybird beetle in our gardens, in our homes and in our public buildings, as they gobbled pests in the summer and looked for winter homes.

Things You'll Need

• Wet-dry vac

Instructions

1. Forget about a quick fix. These aggressive beetles are large and in charge. Their natural enemies are back in Japan, Korea and China. Their defensive stink, released by the joints in their legs, and their ability to bite convinces birds and other animals to stick to less well-armed prey. That stink, by the way, is accompanied by a yellow liquid that stains anything it touches--including upholstery and floor covering, so don't go squashing (or sweeping) them anywhere you can't scrub down.

2. Count out pesticides. Although the Ladybird beetle is very sensitive to pesticides, the Asian beetle is fairly pesticide-resistant. Pesticides used for box elder bugs have been used with some success but applications would have to be too frequent to be healthy for humans. The best you can hope to do with chemicals is to lay a defensive perimeter around whatever building you hope to protect and re-apply the barrier as directed. Since these aggressive bugs fly in the fall to find winter homes, you may need more than a can of Mega-Multi-Power Spray Bomb.

3. Play solid defense. Seal openings around windows, doors and along foudations. Weatherstrip doors and windows. Install screening in those decorative vents and soffits. Asian beetles swarm on sunny surfaces in late fall and search out any opening to get inside to share the holidays with you. They favor crevices and the inside of walls that are warm to snooze for the winter. That's why you'll find them emerging from window wells and baseboards in the spring.

4. Take the offense. Get a wet-dry shop vac and vacuum up the critters wherever you see them, inside and around the exterior of your home or building. Dump them far away from any building or they'll fly right back. You might also try a black-light trap (not a bug zapper) to trap the critters. Be careful when handling them, though. In addition to being smelly and leaving an ugly stain when riled, they bite.

Tips & Warnings

• Other than the obvious nuisance, Asian beetles pose little risk in terms of allergies, although some links with asthma are being investigated. If you need to maintain hygienic conditions, though, for a home-bound patient or family member with an autoimmune disease, you might want to consider consulting a professional pest service.

• Remember that ladybugs are beneficial insects and practice sensible management. Eradicating them completely may lead to a plague of aphids, white flies and other teeny--and destructive--pests.

Resources

• General information about Asian beetles
• More information about Asian beetles