Many people get bothered by an infestation of ladybugs during winter. Let’s help them out with some tips on how to get rid of them.
I love ladybugs. I really do. They are the prettiest insects I’ve ever seen. They eat up aphids, which can totally destroy a healthy plant. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that a few ladybugs had decided to visit me one winter morning. They looked so pretty, perched on the windows and their sills, just patiently waiting out the cold winter. But by the next morning, the number of ladybugs on said windows had almost doubled.
And by evening, almost tripled! They were inside my house, on the ceiling at the doors, everywhere! Now, I was alarmed. I mean, sure they’re truly beautiful to look at, with their glossy (and may I add, quite stylish) red and black jackets, but I really did not want to end up entertaining a swarm that could do some serious damage. So I decided to ask around for help on getting rid of them. Given below are some of the best remedies that I received. Read them and you can try them out too.
Banishing Ladybugs from your Home
If your home has been plagued by a ladybug infestation, then you must know how frustrating it is. But if you’re worried about what they eat, rest assured that nothing in your home will entice their taste buds. So they won’t gnaw through your precious rug or your antique sofa by the time you can figure out how to get rid of them. So, let us now see some tips and tricks that you can use to extricate them from your house.
Shut Up
Ensure that all your doors and windows are shut completely all the time. Ladybugs love cracks and crevices. They’ll sneak in through the smallest holes. So close them all up properly with caulk. If this does not help, then you can try out the ideas below.
Scented Candles
Many people have agreed that using certain scented candles can help to keep the bugs away. The best among these are mulberry or lemon scented candles. So light a few of them outside and inside your home. You’ll have a lovely fragrance lilting through your home and the bugs will be gone too!
Diatomaceous Earth
Using diatomaceous earth around the foundation of your house can be of help. It is made of preserved algae and is a very effective natural pesticide.
Shop Vacuum
Another thing you can try, if the infestation is in its initial stages, is use a shop vacuum, which is smaller than the usual vacuum cleaner, to suck in all the bugs that you can find. Walk in and around the house looking for as many bugs as you can find, and vacuum them out.
Vinegar
Apparently there’s something about vinegar that irritates the ladybugs. So, even though you might not like the smell at first, spray a little vinegar in your house. Smell being the weakest sense, you’ll forget about the odor in a few seconds, but the bugs won’t.
Bay Leaves
Another remedy, I was told works effectively against ladybugs is bay leaves. Disperse a few bay leaves around the house, on the window sills, at the doors, etc. The fragrance is something that the bugs aren’t really fond of. So they’ll be off soon.
Spray
There are also certain solutions that you can spray around your home to keep the bugs from coming anywhere near them. Here are a few.
- Detergent with water
- Ammonia with water
- Menthol solution
- Mint oil
Fruit
If you don’t necessarily want to kill the bugs, then you can keep a bowl of cut fruit out to attract the bugs. Once they’re on the fruit, you can collect all of them, put them in a tightly sealed box, with very small holes to breathe and place them in your garage to hibernate the winter out.
Though ladybugs don’t harm (if they’re biting you, they’re probably Asian Beetles, not ladybugs), they can be a nuisance, as children may unknowingly eat them (yes, it’s been known to happen) and you’ll just get tired of cleaning up again and again. So, if none of the above mentioned remedies help, call in for professional pest control help and get rid of them. Good luck!