Ladybug control...no, really.

[Xerocles]

Ladybugs. You gotta love em! They eat aphids and other garden pests, but not the garden. And legend has it, they bring good luck. But i don't need THIS MUCH good luck. When I moved into the house, it had been vacant (except for two legged squatters who broke in and stayed awhile) for several years. I swept and vacuumed literally bushels of dead ladybugs....particularly one room.
Now the weather is turning colder and they're looking for a place to hole up....primarily the walls of my house. Now I don't mind. They're quiet roommates. But I wish they'd stay in the walls. They're everywhere, literally by the thousands,probably hundreds of thousands. In fact, one is crawling on my phone as I type this. And 3 more are wandering around the desk. I went to visit my sister yesterday. An hour drive away. We were getting into my car, and she jumped back with a shriek. I looked, and there were a couple hundred in the doorwells of the car.
I have sealed around windows, crown molding, switch plates and outlets...anywhere I can imagine as a place of egress....but still they come.
There are probably 5 or 6 hundred on the floor in that room right now, dead or dying. Any non-lethal (I love them in the garden, spring and summer) ideas to control them inside the house that I haven't tried? I've even done stakeouts to observe where they enter from, but they must only enter under cover of darkness.

 

[Baymule]

They come in our house too, but nowhere near that bad! The oak tree out front is swarming with them. Look for ways to seal up the outside of the house, cracks, windows, anywhere and everywhere. We have double windows, inside window and outside window. You'd think that they would be air tight, but nope. there are tiny square holes in the corners that hundreds of flies find and ladybugs use as a highway to the inside. Duct tape. LOL

 

[Mini Horses]

How to Get Rid of Ladybugs: Quick & Simple Solutions

Natural ways to trap, repel, and kill ladybugs Ladybugs might be beneficial in your garden, but they're not so fun to deal with when they're infesting your home or yard. Fortunately, there are easy ways to get rid of them. In this article,...

www.wikihow.com

Lots of tips here....seems they do NOT like citris or citronella.

Guess you are REALLY lucky!!

 

[Hipshot]

Asian lady beetles . Are a nuisance around here . So if they bite smell bad when you crush them that is what you have . Light and warmth will attract them . there is a bag trap with a sent lure .Looks kinda like a Japanese beetle trap .They call it a Asian lady beetle trap . I got mine at our Farmer's CO-OP . Once trapped you can kill them or ,save them in a cricket box in a cool dark place . Also the average bug zapper my take them out.I use my big shop vac to gather them . keep it set for water and suck it full of water ,no more bugsBeen doing it for three winters and springs now. Greatly reduced the numbers here.

 

[Beekissed]

They seem to have cycles....sometimes we have them every winter for a few years, then won't see them for many years. When they are not here, the stink bugs are. I'll take the lady bugs, even when they bite....the stink bugs are disgusting and give me the willies.

This year is a lady bug year....but we aren't having them as bad as you are. They swarmed through and were flying everywhere like a huge cloud for a few days, but the bulk of them moved on~maybe to your place? ~and we only have a few here and there. Hallelujah!!!! There have been years when we too were sweeping them all up with the shop vac.

 

[Xerocles]

They seem to have cycles....moved on~maybe to your place?

Thanks...but could you just keep them there next time?
I guess I am becoming a lady bug expert (thank you Google). It seems there are hundreds of species, but two "types". The lady bug/lady beetle and the Asian lady beetle. Neither are native to the US. Tell them apart? Ask an entomologist. You are the second person to mention biting but they are supposed to be non aggressive with mouthparts too small to bite a human (or anything much bigger than an aphid). I've never been bitten, and I've had them in and on most parts of my anatomy. Least favorite places so far has been the nose and ears.
Oh, and speaking of aphids. They do eat them, but also eat other "beneficial" critters also. I even saw a pic of one in the act of eating a leaf. So maybe not as sweet and helpful as I had been led to believe.
BRIGHT SPOT. Supposedly they hate Citronella and Eucalyptus. Guess Glade just got a new customer. Let's see. Ive got 8 outlets in the room they seem to favor..........Maybe I can convince them to go back to West Virginia.

 

[Beekissed]

Nah....usually folks just drive through our fair state, soak up all the beauty, but only the more intelligent ones stay.

I can attest that those intelligent bugs DO bite....and it hurts.

 

[Xerocles]

Nah....usually folks just drive through our fair state, soak up all the beauty, but only the more intelligent ones stay.

I can attest that those intelligent bugs DO bite....and it hurts.

I just licked my arm. Bleeck!!! I guess you taste more aphiddy than I do.
Maybe you got the Asian lady bug beetles. I read that they can bite.

 

[Amaggio]

Ladybugs. You gotta love em! They eat aphids and other garden pests, but not the garden. And legend has it, they bring good luck. But i don't need THIS MUCH good luck. When I moved into the house, it had been vacant (except for two legged squatters who broke in and stayed awhile) for several years. I swept and vacuumed literally bushels of dead ladybugs....particularly one room.
Now the weather is turning colder and they're looking for a place to hole up....primarily the walls of my house. Now I don't mind. They're quiet roommates. But I wish they'd stay in the walls. They're everywhere, literally by the thousands,probably hundreds of thousands. In fact, one is crawling on my phone as I type this. And 3 more are wandering around the desk. I went to visit my sister yesterday. An hour drive away. We were getting into my car, and she jumped back with a shriek. I looked, and there were a couple hundred in the doorwells of the car.
I have sealed around windows, crown molding, switch plates and outlets...anywhere I can imagine as a place of egress....but still they come.
There are probably 5 or 6 hundred on the floor in that room right now, dead or dying. Any non-lethal (I love them in the garden, spring and summer) ideas to control them inside the house that I haven't tried? I've even done stakeouts to observe where they enter from, but they must only enter under cover of darkness.

The best way is to spray vinegar around the doors and windows so they don't get inside. They're likely sensing a winter storm coming. They did this in my area before our first snow storm. Vinegar will kill them instantly but if you can spray the windows before they get inside the vinegar will deter them.

 

[Bruce]

We seem to get the Asian Beetles sporadically. One year there will be a lot (scores, not hundreds) in the house starting in the fall and few the next. We call them DD1's pets when there is the occasional one in the house in the fall. She'll put a drop of juice or something on a plate and the beetles will come eat. I've never been bitten by one.

Asian Beetle vs Ladybug article