In Minnesota this last year we've had problems with lady bug infestations. Now that spring has popped, so have they again and we're wondering if there is any suggestion on how to address them?
Send 'em to me [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]!
Ladybugs eat a lot of nasty critters. I'll buy them and release them on my roses. This year, my daughter has decided it is lots of fun to catch them - we gather them from the pasture and put them on our plants near the house.
I understand that they can swarm like crazy in some areas, which would be somewhat obnoxious. Most insecticides would work, though, if you really want to get rid of them. Anything you use will also kill other (potentially) beneficial insects. There are soap based treatments that may be less toxic.
But they are harmless - all they eat are soft bodied insects and leave the plants alone.
My 5 year old has got a little ladybug house.The lady bugs it seems prefer a larger house,ours.They havn't been to bad so far,some move in in the fall,and move out about now.During the winter most stay hid pretty good because you never see many.I'm not wanting to spray them as of yet,BUT,if they get bad enough,I guess a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do.Take deer for example,so far they have not wanted to jump over my 6 ft. garden fence ,but ifin they decide to eat my garden up I planon hanging some deer hides over the spot in the fence where they jumped it.I wish people would stop feeding deer,they don't know my neighbors yard from mine,and like I said I have no problems shooting them.Wild things are supposed to stay wild.Sorry,I got off on a different subject,I'm in the ranting mood tonight I guess. RICHARD GAUTHIER
I am wondering if you really are referring to the "asian beetles" and not "lady bugs". The asian beetles have become a real nuisance. They have the shape of the lady bug, but have black spots on their back and swarm in the fall, get into every crevice, and pile up sometimes in huge piles, and do bite (unlike the calmer lady bug). The asian beetles give off a strong odor and also "bleed" orange when picked up. I don't like them, and hope soon that someone comes up with a trap or "poison" to get rid of them.
Huh, I didn't know that any of them did, either. I looked 'em up in a couple of gardening books before replying, too, and they were reported as harmless.
The ones we have out here don't bite, or my daughter would be full of little insect teeth holes [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img]. She just grabs 'em and throws them in a jar - it surprises me that any of them live, but almost all do... [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
The do bite, or the pinch the far (fire, for non-hillbillies) out of you. I've been had by the critters.
Don't smash them they stink up a storm, I've found a shop vac is the best away to get them off of what they gather upon, then dump them in a covered trash can.
<font color="blue"> or the pinch the far (fire, for non-hillbillies) out of you. </font color>
But everyone knows that the Three Wise Men were wearing protective gear because they had just come from a far [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]..
(I guess this is a bit off-topic, huh [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img])
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