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I have these beetles outside - they are oval, kind of flat on top. Some have red lines or spots on the body/wings. they have 6 legs and 2 antenna. they have wings, but seem to crawl or hop more than fly around. they attach themselves to my screen door, where the sun hits directly. they all over the outside of my house - I didn't recognize them in the Good Bug/Bad Bug booklet. does anyone know what they are or what to do with them? Good bug or bad bug?!
also - I have millions of ladybugs. I know they are a good bug, but they make their way into my bedroom and I really can't deal with bugs inside!! I have been putting them outside, but they keep coming inside!! help! thanks in advance for your advise
The bugs sound like box elder beetles. They are a nuisance, but do no harm. Don't do much good, either, but they won't bite or sting, chew wood, or emit anything poisonous. They are just trying to stay warm.
If you are seeing ladybugs inside, then soon you'll be seeing box elder bugs inside too. They will come in the same openings the ladybugs found. Finding the openings and sealing them is really the only way to keep them out.
Don't vacuum up the ladybugs as some books say to do; they'll just die inside the bag. I'm afraid releasing them is all you can do.
Seal off your house! Where you are getting drafts, is where they are comming in. Using caulking to seal doors, windows, vents, cable/pipe entries to the house. You will save some $ on your energy bill as well.
I thought box elder bugs were a joke on Prairie Home Companion until I found them in our yard too...Ladybugs can be vacuumed, they say, into a clean bag, with a piece of old nylon taped over the whole so they can breathe, and put into a cool place like a corner of the cellar until spring. I've never tried it, as we don't get the ladybugs in the house.
I have been told that hedgeapples, those huge green lumpy balls that fall off the trees and littler the field, are really effective in repelling bugs -- spiders, especially, but these ladybug things too. We tried them for spiders and have noticed considerably fewer of the ladybugs.
