What can be done to keep ladybugs from invading your home?.

Monday, October 23, 2000

What can be done to keep ladybugs from invading your home?

The following suggestions come from Wabasha County Extension educator Steve Drazkowski:

To begin with, find out where they are coming in. If a building

is sealed well, very few will get into it. Begin by simply observing

where you see the largest number on the inside of your house.

Then look outside to discover where they are coming in.

Cover the windows with plastic, caulk cracks, fill areas

around vents and air-conditioner inlets, and tighten up door

seals.

Because the ladybugs are primarily on the south and west

sides of the house (these receive the most sun and therefore

are the warmest), you may want to avoid using the doors on these

sides and use another door on the north or east sides. The bugs

will be around bothering people only until the climate gets colder

(40 degrees should do it) and do go back into the woods at night.

So that means that any temporary exclusion materials such as

plastic over windows can be removed after a short period of time.

Once you’ve plugged things up, vacuum up those that made

it into the house. Shop vacs work well. There will be some that

make it in, even under the best efforts to keep them out. Continue

to clean up those that you aren’t able to keep out.