Let 5 Star Pest Control End Your Lady Beetles Problem
Lady beetles are probably the most really recognized of all insects. There are hundreds of kinds of lady beetles in the United States. One recently imported species is causing some concern among homeowners because of their sheer numbers: these are multicolored Asian lady beetles. These beetles, which were accidentally introduced into the United States some years ago, first started appearing in the Upper Midwest in the late 1990s, and have since exploded in population. They are invading homes, cabins and other properties like never before.
What Do They Look Like?
All lady beetles are smoothly oval in share with convex bodies; they are usually shiny and sometimes marked with spots. Multicolored Asian lady beetles are slightly larger than the familiar; native lady beetles. Asian lady beetles may be yellow or red in color and may or may not have 19 sports on their wing covers. Characteristic of this species that the adults have a black “M” or “W” pattern on their cream-colored or yellow-colored pronotum (the shield that hides its thorax and most of its head).
Can They Cause Harm?
These beetles are relatively harmless. While they can bite, most people report no residual pain after the initial small pinch felt. These beetles do not breed indoors, or eat fabrics or foodstuffs. Nevertheless, they can be a nuisance when they occur in large numbers. Like boxelder bugs and cluster flies, they gather on buildings in early fall, seeking protected sites in which to spend the winter. They crawl in any crack they can find and they use the house’s void spaces (walls, ceilings, attics, soffits and the space around windows or doors) for winter shelter. In the spring, they leave the house and complete their life cycle outside.
When Do They Enter Buildings?
Asian multicolored lady beetles, which live outside all summer, are triggered to migrate into buildings by a period of 2-3 cold days followed by a day of summer warmth. This usually happens around late August into the first part of September.
Since they spend the winter inside of structures, they are a problem on sunny winter days, when the warmth from the sun causes them to stir about, and some of them emerge into occupied rooms of the house.
How Can They Be Controlled?
Any lady beetles that you see inside in the winter are beetles that found their way inside the previous fall, and spent the winter in the house. The best thing to do about these is to remove them with a vacuum cleaner. If you’d like to prevent Asian lady beetles from entering your home the following year, you may want to consider a preventative exterior treatment for your home.
5 Star Pest Control & Cabin Care’s service for multicolored Asian lady beetles involves treating the exterior of the home in late summer or early autumn, using a residual (long-lasting) insecticide. This treatment is designed and times to intercept the beetles as they come to the house, so that they don’t have a chance to become a nuisance inside. You can expect this treatment to be about 80% effective at reducing the number of multicolored Asian lady beetles that get inside your home.
You may also want to consider 5 Star’s Home & Cabin Care Service, a program consisting of regular, preventive inspection and treatment as needed for insects and mice. This year-round program covers carpenter ants, other small ants, spiders, roaches, other crawling insects, bee and wasp nests, and mice. You may be surprised at how economical this program really is even with adding Asian lady beetle service.
For more information on control of Asian Lady Beetles, give 5 Star Pest Control & Cabin Care a call at 218-326-2192.
