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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Where Are The Lady Beetles Spending The Winter?

Why, in the dining room, of course!


We've been having record breaking warm weather here lately so doors and windows have been left open. I noticed a few lady beetles flying in the other day, and then they disappeared so I thought nothing of it. Then yesterday I noticed a blob way up in the corner of the the dining room and the blob turned out to be a cluster of lady beetles. I think that they are Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles which the UC IPM website says will overwinter indoors in colder parts of the States. I wonder if this means we're going to have a cold winter?

3 comments:

  1. No, it does not determine a colder winter. It means that if this is your first year to have them in your house you are in for a treat. They will infest your area and become your one winter nightmare. They started invading Ohio about eight years ago and now they are Ohio's number one pest.
    They come into our houses and buildings by the thousands. They stink so the birds will not eat them. They stink up your homes and leave brown secretions everywhere. They get into food in eating establishments,etc. We have to spray the outside of our houses in late September before they come in and you cannot keep them out. We sweep them of off walls and ceiling with the vacuum cleaners. Ewww! I cannot say enough bad things about the little devils.:-) In fact they are destroying our good Ladybug population. I wish you all luck. I have a posting about them on my blog. http://lonadawn/blogspot.com

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  2. Wow, I thought it was pretty cool that they were in your kitchen until I read Lona's comment. I'm sorry to hear that they are such a problem in Ohio.

    I think I read another post the other day, however, form a woman who said they'd been overwintering in her kitchen for a few years, and she didn't seem to think it was a bother. Maybe your ladybeetles will be more polite than Lona's!

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  3. I'm amazed to hear what a pest they are in Ohio. I had a few of them come indoors last year as well, but they never became a problem. I've never heard of them invading indoor spaces in huge numbers in California. I guess it must be because of our milder climate.

    Yesterday I noticed a lot of Convergent lady beetles busy in the garden munching my healthy (ha ha) aphid population. I think the two varieties of lady beetles are managing to cooexist peaceably around here.

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