Ladybird infestation

regency_man

My flat is being swarmed by hundeds, if not thousands of ladybirds. They camp out in the window frames in swarms, hide in my clothes, crawl over me when I'm relaxing, I find them in food, in boxes, in cuboards and this morning I woke up to find 2 in my hair. I haven't been sleeping well for the past few weeks, i'm fairly sure it's because they fly into me and land on me when I'm asleep. I'm writing this from the iPad in bed and I can count 16 crawling over the walls, ceilings and floor. Oh and the noise they make when they fly... makes my skin crawl.

This has got to stop. I dont care if they are native, harlequin or whatever, I want them out the house or I'm going to unleash the chemicals.

Is there a natural way to rid myself of these pests? I don't understand where they are coming from, I live in the middle of a city.

I've hear they release pheromones which attract more of them, how do I rid my home of these chemical beacons??

Help!!

maninthestreet

In the middle of winter??

zzzLazyDaisy

I can't help with any advice - but just to say that the hotel my friends stayed in over New Year had the same problem with lady birds. They came to the conclusion that they must have been attracted inside by the warmth. They just ignored them and got on with having fun, but I guess you can do that for a day or two.

jc808

My mum had a few of these around and inside her place, but when I say a few I mean 4 or 5.

Jesus, thats a useless post

dld2s

sounds like it could be the harlequin ladybirds they are talking about in this article http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/ladybirds-are-invading-our-houses-this-autumn-often-in-their-thousands-whats-going-on-397186.html

Leif

The problem with pesticides is toxicity. I found the best for getting rid of fungus gnats was Pyrethrin powder. It IS toxic, but it degrades fairly rapidly and becomes harmless. It will leave a messy powder everywhere.

regency_man

Thanks for the comments. I've read up on the internet too and most of it is either utter tripe about just leaving them alone (honestly, not possible) or rounding them all up in matchboxes and sending them to some Harlequin bug survey - this would be a never ending task.

Seems that the biggest problem is the chemical scent they leave behind, it keeps on attracting more of the blighters to the same spots even after you've got rid of the current lot (one site quoted that they can smell the scent 1/4 mile away). However no-one seems to offer a remedy of how to get rid of these chemicals.

I havent got any pets, so I don't need to worry too much about the toxicity of the pesticides - just need to know which is the right one, none seem to advertise as being suitable for exterminating ladybirds.

Any ideas?

elsien

Try posting on the greenfingered bit of the forum - someone there might be able to help on the extermination front.

krlyr

Had a problem like this in my last house - ladybirds give me the creeps big time now! I think the climbing ivy & clematis outside the window attracted them, and then they'd hibernate around the windows and doors and invade once the weather warmed up. Even during the last few months, the milder weather and extra sunshine resulted in a swarm of them in the house. Not an issue now I've moved, but that's a bit of a drastic solution! I found the best way to deal with them was to use a cyclinder hoover to just hoover them all up - preferably first thing when they were fairly inactive and usually gathered on the window waiting for their daily basking in the sun.
I would try to find out where they are entering and block it up, in my house it was old-fashioned sash windows leaving small gaps so I ended up taping over them which helped.

Norman_Castle

Seems that the biggest problem is the chemical scent they leave behind, it keeps on attracting more of the blighters to the same spots even after you've got rid of the current lot

I've had increasing numbers over the last year. They seem to like the window frame but obviously also spread into the room. Any links to mask or remove the scent would be appreciated.

edit, just read the article and it recommends white vinegar. I might try WD40 on the frames.

Leif

regency_man wrote: »

none seem to advertise as being suitable for exterminating ladybirds.

Any ideas?

Just get insecticide. Pyrethrin will work.