I am sooo sick of them! They are so disgusting!! I just had one in my hair and found one on my daughter's toothbrush!! They are attracted to light (especially white) colored houses and mine is white. They invade in the fall to hibernate and them come out and crawl around as soon as it begins to warm up. I found a site promising a surefire cure that you download for $30. As much as I hate them, I can't spend $30 for a download! But the site does mention you have to burn something and let the smoke go all around windows and doorways. Anyone have any idea what one could burn to get rid of them? Anyone have any other cure? Does anyone else even suffer from them??

By Nicki on Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 10:52 pm:

Kate, are they ladybugs? I didn't know they could be a problem inside the house. I love them in the garden, in fact, we buy a package of them each spring and let them loose!

By Jtsmom on Sunday, April 6, 2008 - 10:20 am:

Nicki, you can come to my house and have them for free!! I am not overrun with them, but they are a pest in your home. (although they are pretty)

By Colette on Sunday, April 6, 2008 - 10:30 am:

I've got tons of them, but I just either vacuum them up or open the window and flick them out. They are really good for gardens, especially rose gardens.

By Yjja123 on Sunday, April 6, 2008 - 10:41 am:

http://www.pestcontrol-products.com/ladybugs_lethal.htm

Controlling the lady beetles in your house is a two part effort. The first prong of attack is to exclude them from your home. Exclusion starts with caulking and sealing every crack on the exterior of your house. (Seal even the tiniest cracks -- I once found one behind the glass of a professionally framed picture, to give you an idea of their ability to move through narrow gaps.) If you have old wooden windows with cracked putty around the glass, reglaze them, too. Screen openings into your attic and soffit vents.
The second method of control is to catch them if they do manage to get inside. This is far safer than spraying pesticide throughout your home. A canister vaccuum with a long wand attachment is the easiest way I know of for this. A small rechargeable hand held can also be handy for quick pick-ups. After collecting the ladybugs, empty the collection compartment or dispose of the bag or seal the end of the wand/handle so they can't climb right back out. (Plastic wrap held tight with an elastic band works well.)

By Hol on Sunday, April 6, 2008 - 07:25 pm:

I think they're beautiful and they are harmless. And, ditto, they are EXCELLENT for the garden. If I see one in the house, I just catch her in my hands and put her outside. My DH actually built a house for them at the edge of our woods. He bought a kit, and read in a magazine about how beneficial they are.

By Bellajoe on Sunday, April 6, 2008 - 08:13 pm:

If they are those orange asian lady beetles, they are not the same as lady bugs. They bite! They are annoying and just creepy when there are so many of them.

They don't get inside the house unless someone leaves the door open and that happens very rarely around here since it's only warm for liek 3 months of the year.SO they don't bug me as much as they do Kate.

By Tunnia on Sunday, April 6, 2008 - 09:58 pm:

We used to get swarmed before we put in new windows and doors and sealed everything really well (we got scorpions and those huge outdoor roaches back then too). I remember the first couple of years in our house our entire dining room ceiling and master bath ceiling would be a sea of orange with them at times and yes, they can bite and they smell nasty too when you bother them! My advice is to seal around all your windows and doors and any place they can get into in the fall to hibernate.