Well, they’re driving me crazy again this year! I always thought they were an infestation of the common ladybugs that we see in the garden in the summer and think “how cute.” Not! I have come to learn these are Asian lady beetles. The Asian lady beetle arrived in New England through both intentional introductions and accidental stowaways on ships from Asia. While the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture released them in the Northeast during the late 1970s and early 1980s for pest control, it’s believed that the subsequent rapid spread was due to accidental transport via cargo ships porting in Louisiana and then quickly moving north, reaching New England in the early to mid-1990s.
Great. Now we know where they came from, but how do I get rid of them? So far today I’ve vacuumed up 73 of them. Yesterday I think it was around 65. Asian ladybugs can be identified by an “M” or “W” shaped mark behind its head. They seek shelter in buildings during cooler months, sometimes invading homes in large numbers. In our house, they tend to congregate in my upstairs office in the front of the house where it gets sun most of the day. Besides grouping together in bunches in the corners of the room, they also like to hide in the valance over the front window. When I see 5 or 6 of these bugs, out comes the vacuum to suck them up. Then I go back to whatever I was working on, and 45 minutes later I look up and – behold! – there’s another 6 or 7 of them. I’m pretty sure they get in around the air conditioner we have in the window, though it’s time to take that out of the window. Those ACs are notorious for lousy sealing around the edges. I’ve also learned that they like wooded areas, houses with lights on at night, lighter-colored houses. We seem to check all the boxes.
One final note: Don’t squish them. I’ve learned they can emit a pungent odor and can cause a yellowish stain once squashed. I simply vacuum them up and wait for them to meander back outside where dinner awaits them.
Now excuse me while I get the vacuum out again.
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