has anyone else had a problem with ladybugs invading their house? We wake up to many dead ladybugs every day all over.

  20 answers
  • We had friends who had this problem at their lake house in Georgia. It's likely that the bugs have been hibernating under the sliding of the house and the warmer Atlanta temperatures have caused them to emerge. They are going in the wrong direction! They are attracted to light colored homes, usually older homes and they are attracted to heat that the homes reflect. Once ladybugs have penetrated the home though, they are hard to get rid of. You probably are seeing the dead ones because they are dying of dehydration. They will likely leave once the weather is fully warm, but there is also product called a Ladybug Black Light Trap. It uses radiating black light to attract and contain the ladybugs.
  • Pedini of Atlanta, LLC Pedini of Atlanta, LLC on Feb 23, 2012
    it is for sure the Asian ones. They have been getting in all winter. I have to vacuum them up every morning. I never see them flying around or during the day but we wake up to their dead bodies every morning.
  • Ana M Ana M on Feb 23, 2012
    I have had the same problem for years, they come in somehow always into the Master Bedroom. Can't find the heart to kill them though ;(
  • Bad luck to kill them....so I take them outside and set them free. I've been told, maybe a myth, that an experiment with ladybugs went sour and that's why we have to many of them here.
  • Southern Trillium LLC Southern Trillium LLC on Feb 23, 2012
    We have had ladybug problems in the past few years, but this year has been awful. We thought with the new windows we put in, that it would stop the infestation. To verify whether they were coming in around the windows, I even sealed them off with plastic and blue painters tape. I discovered that they were not coming in around the windows, but from some other source. The tape even pulled off some paint on our window casing, which you can see in the photo, just something else to put on the to-do list now. Our house is all brick, and knowing that they aren't coming in around the windows, we assume they are getting in behind the fascia and soffit box trim. Every night for the past couple months, we are vacuuming over 50 ladybugs each night out of our master bedroom. Our bedroom is on the corner that faces the setting sun, so obviously the warmest area. I believe the ladybugs are in the wall cavities. I have watched several crawl out of wall vents. I put plastic over the vent, and within a few hours had over a dozen inside the plastic. We are at a loss as to how to stop it this season, but I know my plan for next year. I am going to pre-treat the exterior of the house to deter them from returning. I treated the house in December, but it was too late. It did kill a lot of them that were still outside each day, but who knows how many are in the walls trying to overwinter. I attached 2 photos, one was what the exterior looked like on November 7 when they began swarming in. The other photo was taken last week, showing just one window at night.
  • Pedini of Atlanta, LLC Pedini of Atlanta, LLC on Feb 23, 2012
    We cannot find where they are coming in but they appear overnight
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Feb 23, 2012
    To think I purchased lady bugs to get rid of aphids ---- I've never seen a ladybug probem in Florida, maybe it is too hot.
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on Feb 23, 2012
    Sherri, was that successful for you or did they fly away and beyond?
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on Feb 23, 2012
    Yikes ST, are they stinky?
  • Southern Trillium LLC Southern Trillium LLC on Feb 23, 2012
    There is no odor until you start messing with them. They also leave little trails where they have been walking. We just keep moving our vacuum around the house and suck them up with the wand. There is a definite bad smell from the vacuum since the bag has hundreds if not over a thousand dead ladybugs in it. Once we know they are mostly all gone for the season, we will be going around the house, wiping off the crown moulding and other places where we can see the spots and trails. When you disturb them, I believe they secrete some of their blood, which is yellow. That also leaves little spots. So, the goal is to move fast and furious with the vacuum.
  • Southern Trillium LLC Southern Trillium LLC on Feb 23, 2012
    I was working from my home office this afternoon, so I decided to go up and see what it looks like now. Here is what I found on February 23 at 4:10pm. I went ahead and vacuumed up all that I found on the windows and around our bedroom. I also took a photo of part of the window that shows the mess they leave behind.
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on Feb 23, 2012
    gross, and I thought ants were bad!
  • Peace Painting Co., Inc. Peace Painting Co., Inc. on Feb 23, 2012
    ST, that's aweful, and do they stink. We have a brick ranch with storm windows and screened soffit vents and still we see a couple of dozen this time each year. I would want to find out where they are coming from. I've seen box elder bug infestations where they were in and around the house so bad, I thought the ground was moving. This is almost as bad. BTW, the fact that the tape took the paint off means that a primer was not used or applied correctly. It's called the tape test. Nice windows.
  • Southern Trillium LLC Southern Trillium LLC on Feb 23, 2012
    You are correct Peace about the primer not used. When we found our house in 2008, I quickly noticed many things that were not done right, but it was the right house, with a very nice layout, and over 2 acres which for a landscape designer, is plenty of space to work with. The whole house had been quickly cleaned up, new paint, carpet, etc, for the sale. We just started re-doing things almost immediately. We actually would love to replace all of the trim in the whole house. Since the house was built in 1972, it shows plenty of wear. I would rather replace it all to a nicer level of material than spend that much time repairing the damage and improper paint job. The windows have made a noticeable difference for us. We went from 1972 single pane wood sash to solid PVC frames, argon filled, and low E. We did the sash replacements. It took a lot longer, but they look very nice installed without reducing the original window opening. Since I did most of the work finishing up the install on all 20 windows, I didn't care about all the excess time to putty nail holes, caulk, sand, and paint.
  • Peace Painting Co., Inc. Peace Painting Co., Inc. on Feb 23, 2012
    I'm glad you did some of the work yourself. Maybe Walter R can help with tracking the bugs down.
  • Walter Reeves Walter Reeves on Feb 24, 2012
    Trillium, you're right that ladybugs can't magically transport themselves through a wall...so they must be coming in from somewhere. Good catch that they are coming around wall vent...hadn't thought of that. You can take off the cover and caulk the open edge. Also check to see if they are coming through ceiling light openings and wall outlet openings. Sigh....at least you'll save energy by tightening up your house....
  • Southern Trillium LLC Southern Trillium LLC on Feb 24, 2012
    Walter, my main suspicion is that they are able to enter the room between the carpet and the baseboard. Since this is not a complete seal, I am thinking they are in the wall cavities, and then are finding their way in under the baseboard. Since there were a few days where I had the windows sealed off, and also sealed off the vents, I still had some ladybugs in the room, so they are coming in from several unknown locations.
  • Southern Trillium LLC Southern Trillium LLC on Feb 24, 2012
    And by the way, for fun trivia, ladybugs can bite. I think my wife and I have been biten only about 5 times during the winter, but it is possible. You definitely notice the pain as soon as they bite. It doesn't linger, but it is obviously a bite.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Feb 24, 2012
    Four Seasons - I guess I didn't have enough aphids and the ladybugs flew away to better places - perhaps somewhere in Georgia.