Those Ladybug Lookalikes Are Back In Mass.

Those little orange bugs that look like ladybugs start showing up around houses in the Berkshires every fall. One day the sunny side of your place is fine. The next day it is covered in them. A few always find a way inside and end up crawling on the windows or ceiling. They are not the regular ladybugs you see in the garden. These are called Asian lady beetles.

My vacuum is been getting some extra use lately, and I will explain why, coming up.

What are Asian Lady Beetles?

They spend the summer outside eating aphids. When the nights get cold and then a warm afternoon comes along, they look for a spot to hide for the winter. In their home countries they use cracks in rocks. Here they use the walls of houses. They like the south and west sides because those get the most sun. They squeeze through tiny gaps around windows, doors, and siding.

You can tell them apart pretty easy. Look right behind the head. Asian lady beetles have a white part with a black mark that looks like an M or a W. Regular ladybugs do not have that. If you see a whole bunch of them on the house, it is almost always the Asian ones.

The good news is they do not lay eggs inside or chew on anything. They just want a warm place to sleep. The bad news is they can give you a little pinch if you pick them up. And if you smash one, they let out a yellow liquid that smells bad and can leave a stain.

Vacuum them up!

The best thing to do is vacuum them up. Do not crush them. Dump the vacuum outside when you are done. Sprays do not work very well once they are already in the walls. Next year the real fix is to seal the cracks around windows and doors before fall. Check the sunny sides of the house first.

They are a pain, but they are just trying to stay warm like the rest of us. A little vacuuming and some caulk later on keeps most of them out.