Ladybugs swarming (Asian insect pests love Ohio soybean aphids, may be here all winter)

Akron Beacon Journal | 10/09/03

[IndyTiger]

They bite. They stink. And they want to move in with you.

If you hadn't noticed, the multicolored Asian ladybugs that invaded us in 2001 are back.

For now, most of them are content warming their backsides on your house's southern exposure. But before the snow flies again, you're going to find them snoozing on the rug in front of your fireplace and reading the newspaper on your coffee table.

These bugs aren't the dainty red variety that we honored by naming it our state insect. Those polite little fellas stay outside all winter.

Their bully cousins introduced themselves to most of us two years ago, when they went from near-anonymity to the state's No. 1 seasonal household pest.

They like it here because we give them lots of soybean aphids to snack on. The aphids moved in on their own about four years ago, and the beetles that followed them just pulled over like Ohio was a big truck stop.

Then in 2002, the critters seemed to disappear. All that remained were tiny corpses from the previous year's invasion.

``The lady beetles did such a good job on the aphids, they had eaten themselves out of house and home,'' said Ron Becker of the Ohio State University Extension office in Wayne County.

But this summer, the aphids were back. And so are the ladybugs.

Becker said it's too soon to know if that means we can expect an invasion every other year. They may develop a cycle we can predict, or they may simply continue to surprise us.

And there's no way of knowing if this year's plague will get as bad as the last.

``We haven't had them long enough to know what's going on,'' said Becker, who noted that he received four phone calls about the pests in the first 90 minutes of Wednesday's workday.

[IndyTiger]

Anyone else in Ohio dealing with these? These ladybugs are flying all around my neighborhood.

[smith288]

Yes, they are horrible. My wife is afraid of bugs too so they arent making life easier.

[Spruce]

We are infested in Minnesota as well. Shop-Vacs work great.

[Support Free Republic]

I would like to take a moment to ask for donations.

It should be clear to all conservatives by now that the left intends to demonize us. They don't just disagree with us, they hate us. And worse, they want to get other people to hate us.

Places like Free Republic drive the left batty.

Please donate. Thanks for your consideration.

[PeterPrinciple]

They are here in Iowa too. The vacuum is my new hobby.

[You Dirty Rats]

They are all over my house in Cincinnati. My lot is heavily wooded, so I've got more than my fair share of bugs, spiders, termites, moles, and other non-rent-paying squatters.

[Uncle Miltie]

Infestation confirmed in North Dakota.

[snopercod]

We have those in Western North Carolina, too. They are a real pest, but the exterminator services are forbidden to kill them.

OTOH, they are beetles, so any pesticide which would work on a garden beetle should work on them.

[chimera]

Yes, they're around here in droves. The surrounding fields and their insect life are like a smorgasboard for the ladybeetles.

They're annoying when they're swarming but harmless. They stink and leave a stain if you accidentally squash one so watch where you sit. They like to swarm against tall structures that stand out against the horizon, so buildings and structures about three stories tall or higher seem to be like magnets.

Still, its been a fine spell of Indian summer weather, so take the bitter with the better...

[steve50]

Haven't showed up here in the Southeastern section in force yet. We've had em bad the last two or three years

[theFIRMbss]

>Anyone else in Ohio dealing with these? These ladybugs are flying all around my neighborhood.

South of Chicago --
in Oak Lawn -- the last two days
the air has been full

of lady bugs. They
don't bite or smell bad. They just
fly and look orange.

(I've noticed the spots
are all different counts, and some
have no spots at all.)

I have talked with our
local animal control
specialist. She says

she believes it's just
random hatchings for this time
of year, nothing weird...

[Socratic]

Yes, I live in Erie County which has many soy bean fields, but I have only been bitten once this year which is down from two years ago. What a nuisance.

[sarasota]

Illinois as well. By the thousands. Word has it that they got here by way of farmers who brought them in to attack aphids. Hard to keep them outside and how they love to sun themselves on anything outside including people. They bite as well (and stink/stain if crushed).

[hispanarepublicana]

PINGING you two to ask: are there any soybean aphicides currently pending registration at EPA? Sounds like the non-farming population might could get it pushed through......after all, it's the enviro whackos that have been encouraging "biological controls and natural predation" for crop pests.

[hoosierboy]

We have them here in northern indiana, especially with the warm temps this week. They bite too!

[krogers58]

We are inundated by them, out here in Illinois. The worst part about them, is that they bite people, similar to a deer fly bite, or a horse fly bite.

[hoosierboy]

Also those damn boxelder bugs as well.

[ErnBatavia]

[DadOfFive]

South Dakota has them thick as thieves.

[Iowa Granny]

I'm unaware of any pending insecticide awaiting registration.

In the meantime, I use powdered Borax around the foundation of my house, and along the outside windowsills. I don't know if it works, or not,,, but it makes me feel better, and my Grandmother used Borax for box elder bugs.