HELP !!! Ladybugs

**Tweety** · 04-10-2008, 01:34 PM

I thought we had gotten rid of the ladybugs last fall. I just went out to the Tweety and there were at least 50 of them crawling around mostly on the windows. As quick as I could vacuum them up more appeared. WHERE are they coming from? Anyone else have them? How do I get rid of them? I keep telling myself at least they aren't stink bugs!!!

SanDimasJoe · 04-10-2008, 02:38 PM

Pam,

Lady bugs love aphids, so if you have any roses, put them there. Maybe they'll migrate there.

Joe

Steve Collins · 04-10-2008, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quetse

I thought we had gotten rid of the ladybugs last fall. I just went out to the Tweety and there were at least 50 of them crawling around mostly on the windows. As quick as I could vacuum them up more appeared. WHERE are they coming from? Anyone else have them? How do I get rid of them? I keep telling myself at least they aren't stink bugs!!!

They arrived in the fall and spent the winter hibernating in your trailer. I am surprised that you don't have them in your home as well (assuming that the trailer was parked near your house.)

Crush one - you will discover that they do stink!

We get an annual infestation of ladybugs every fall here in western New York State. The only cure for our home is preventative spraying by a professional in late August to mid-September. Cost us around $160 last year. The alternative is ***thousands*** of them in the house throughout the winter. And the interior warmth of the house keeps them active all winter long.

The good news is that if you have them, they will leave when the weather gets a bit warmer, but while they're with you, they can get into the tiniest opening and will stay there in large numbers.

In early September I spray the trailer with Raid Home and Garden Formula #7 which contains allethrin and that seems to prevent the ladybug infestations pretty well. I have to make sure I get the spray well into every opening that the bugs could possibly use. You have to be careful because just spraying it on the exterior surface of the trailer will largely be ineffective because it will wash away if it rains.

Professional exterminators use a special formula that doesn't wash away, and stays very potent on the surface of the house.

rich2500 · 04-10-2008, 08:41 PM

every year as part of our preseason preperation I bomb(you know the stuff for fleas and insects etc.) our sunny and since I have started doing this three years ago I no longer have problems with insects, especially the ants and spiders we always seem to get.might be worth a shot

donreitz · 04-11-2008, 05:10 AM

We have periodic infestations of the critters. We're not big on poisons so we simply vacuum them up over several days and the problem goes away. They seem to prefer bright locations so they tend to concentrate in particular areas (around roof vents for example) and aren't too hard to pick up.
Don

**Tweety** · 04-11-2008, 06:39 AM

They seem to like the windows on the sunny side of Tweety. There are none on the shady side. Maybe we should just move her up into a total shade area. I vacuumed them up yesterday. Then I read on the internet that they don't like Menthol (Vick's vapor rub) or Mint or Mulberry candles. Since I had some mint oil in the pantry I painted a little on the outside of the windows where those little vent holes are. Then put a little on the inside of the windows where they like to crawl. Can't use any insectisides due to allergies, so if this doesn't work we'll have to try a mulberry candle.

**PTHutch** · 04-11-2008, 10:13 AM

I think you should go to your local garden center and purchase some manbugs, particularly the stud variety. Distribute them outside your trailer and maybe they’ll draw the ladybugs out of your trailer.

Poppy & Nana · 04-11-2008, 12:41 PM

Oh Tom - that was bad

!

We have them in the house all the time - we just learned to live with them.....oh the live right along with the HUGE flies that like our home also.

**JohnB** · 04-11-2008, 07:32 PM

Yes, Mother Nature and her cycles. Having been with fruit and vegetable farming for 30 years one gets to know bugs…. I know they can come in numbers but be glad they are only Lady Bugs.....

Also with Mother nature and shade, while the shade may help the Lady Bugs, the shade will not help the mold on the TT roof. All though for reasons I have not yet figured out, eastern PA has less mold on the TT roof then Central Ohio. My T310SR sat on the dealers lot for a while and then with the prior owner out side. When I brought Sunny home I was shocked

at the lack of any little black specs on the roof. Yes there was a tons of dirt fueling the black streaks

but no little black specs. Now with Sunny having a cleaned up roof from TLC and living in Central Ohio for 6 months, those little black specs are already starting….

In my case I would rather have the Lady Bugs. Point, you may exchange the bugs for the mold when you move from the sunny side of things. You can’t fool Mother Nature.

John