Tips for Asian Lady Beetle invasion
publication on the topic and also an article by Willie Chance with the UGA Center for Urban Agriculture.
For starters, I did a Google search to see how wide spread the Asian lady beetle problem with homes can stretch and found an article by Oklahoma State University and even one by University of WisconsinMilwaukee. I have given background on the Asian Lady Beetle in previous articles, but I will give a short review. The Asian Lady Beetle can still be seen as a new visitor to the U.S. The first field population of this particular species was found in Louisiana in 1988. I will remind that from the 1960’s to 1990’s, the USDA did release Asian Lady Beetles in many states to help control pests in pecans and apples. I will add that some in the scientific community do not believe our current populations came from those releases, but came from a freight liner that arrived in New Orleans from Japan. No matter the source, we do have a thriving population of Asian Lady Beetles now.
In a previous article, I gave tips on how to make your home more lady beetle proof. With the warmer weather of this fall, you still may have time to seal up entry points around windows, doors and utility pipes with chalk or other correct material. You can use weather stripping and door sweeps.
Lady beetles are simply looking for a place to overwinter when they invade your home so your goal is to keep the lady beetles on the outside. Note that beetle flights can be heavier on sunny days following cooler weather. According to one publication, flight activity seems to be more in the afternoon plus the beetles are attracted more to illuminated surfaces. In many cases, they like areas on the southwestern side of a building that receives afternoon sun. In addition, it seems that light-dark features on home such as dark shutters on a light background tend to attract beetles, too. I will add that since Asian Lady Beetles are beneficial insects, we need to try to keep them on the outside of the dwelling so they can do their work in our gardens next growing season.
What can you do if lady beetles do get inside the home? This is going to depend some of the level of infestation. I think you can easily handle a few ladybugs here and there, but if you get a large number, you may have to be more aggressive.
First, I would not pick them up by hand or sweep them. This can stress the beetles and cause them to secret a yellow substance that can stain carpet, cloth and walls. Vacuuming the beetle with a hand-held vacuum is the best and hopefully you can safely release them back outside a good distance from the house. Remember, these are good insects, so it’s nice to have them on the property in the growing season.
Our UGA Urban Ag Center information adds that if you use a regular vacuum, put the toe end of a pair of hose or knee high stocking over the end of the vacuum hose. You can hold it in place with a rubber band over the end of the vacuum hose and the stocking. Do not let the stocking get sucked up the vacuum hose. The stocking will act as a trap to hold the ladybugs for release back outdoors.
If you are not concerned with saving these beneficial insects and you simply want to remove them from the house, you can vacuum them up and discard the vacuum bag, but again these are beneficial insects that can eat a lot of damaging aphids next spring and summer.
Finally, with the warmer temperatures this fall you still have time to investigate the outside of your home and reduce lady beetle entry points. This would be the best way to slow down invasions. For more information contact UGA ExtensionGordon County at 706-629-8685 or email gbowman@uga.edu.