This is what it looks like when I step out my front door

[PeaceNikki]

[KitchenWitch]

1. I would rather have the Japanese Ladybugs and Boxelder Beetles

over the damned Palmetto bugs here.

[PeaceNikki]

3. ewww. those look very cockroachy

:shudder:

These are better than those or skeeters or 1000 other bugs, but it's annoying. Like a plague. Not AS plaguey as the Seventeen Year Cicada invasions, but still.

[KitchenWitch]

6. Yes, but they are cockroaches the size of Mini Coopers.

x(

At least they do not infest the house.

ETA: I do remember Boxelder Beetle season...they are really annoying.

[PeaceNikki]

15. I cannot support the idea of cockroaches the size of Mini Coopers.

Some things area just plain wrong.

[KitchenWitch]

16. it really is.

We have black widows here too.

:scared:

I DO like the geckoes...

[friedgreentomatoes]

30. where is this?

just dont want to step into a place that has black widows.
i am arachnophobic...severely..

[KitchenWitch]

31. Southern California

Really, living here is not for the faint of heart. We have earthquakes, we have wild fires, we have mudslides, we have gigantic cockroaches, we have rattlesnakes, and we have black widow spiders.

:scared:

I miss snow storms, thunderstorms, seasons, lakes, rain, fresh air, fall colors, deer, ducks, and loons.

[FloridaJudy]

32. And in Florida

They can fly! :scared:

[Ptah]

2. Yikes!

[Mugu]

4. I'm south of you and know exactly what you're talking about.

Every Spring and Fall I get invaded. But this year I'm getting some help from the wasps.

[PeaceNikki]

5. The ladybug/whatever kinda beetle the freaking call it things get in my house

and drive my cats insane. x( The box elders are staying on the outside but fucking dive bomb me when I go out.

[Mugu]

10. I understand completely.

The lady bugs bite and are stinky when you pick them up. The box elders can completely cover the south side of the house on a cool, sunny day.

Regards, Mugu

[Arkansas Granny]

19. I didn't know lady bugs could bite and I've never noticed an odor even though

I've handled countless ladybugs over the years. I've always been happy to have them around since the larvae have a voracious appetite for aphids.

[PeaceNikki]

20. Oh, they bite and they stink

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/insect/asianladybeetle.htm

Be careful if you disturb or squash these alien beetles, they can "reflex bleed" where a yellow fluid and unpleasant odor is released from their legs—this is designed to keep predators away. It can stain walls and fabric! These lady beetles can give a pinch-like bite - ouch! But, they are not harmful to people.

[Blue Diadem]

22. The Asian ones can bite and they do smell. They're more orange than red.

I hardly ever see a regular red lady bug anymore.

[jane_pippin]

7. I was just in Illinois for an Ikea run and those things were everywhere.

We stopped to eat someplace--nothing fancy, but like a noodles & co type place, and they were all up in the windows on the inside of the restaurant. It was sick.

[PeaceNikki]

8. Oooo, what'd you get at Ikea?

Fun stuff? :bounce:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. i would have never ventured out. those brown things look like large roaches

:scared:

[PeaceNikki]

11. No, they're pretty small and not real cockroachy.

They're quite harmless, just EVERYWHERE!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

12. ohh... ok... still kinda scary,,. i think ladybugs are so pretty...

[PeaceNikki]

13. You want about a billion of 'em?

They're pretty stupid and easy to corral.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. ...

:P

[Mugu]

17. Personally, I find the box elders less disgusting than the lady bugs.

The lady bugs crawl all over you and bite. They get in your hair and after you sort them out you have to wash your hands because of the stink.

Whenever I find a box elder in the house I just pinch their head off and drop them in the trash. The lady bugs are hard to pick up (because of their shape and hard shell) and have an stinky orange juice they secrete. About the only way to pick them up is to slide a card under them and deposit them in the toilet or vacuum them up. But, if you vacuum them up the vacuum cleaner stinks when you run it.

The only problem with the box elders is the numbers and their droppings.

This is a box elder on a window screen.

[Critters2]

28. I remember when I was young, and thought ladybugs were pretty.

Long ago, before they started biting and PEEING ON ME!!! With that stinky pee!!

[FloridaJudy]

33. Those are the Asian ones

They've pretty well invaded everywhere. There's a danger they could wipe out our benign indigenous lady bugs.

They do eat aphids, though.

[Critters2]

35. Yeah, they eat soybean aphids. But once the farmers start cutting beans,

the little suckers move into town. And biting people, and peeing on 'em. Little suckers. I never see the non-peeing, non-biting kind anymore.

[Critters2]

25. I forgot you don't have box elder bugs out east. They kind of look like cock roaches,

but they don't want to eat your food or get in your walls or do any of the other icky things cock roaches do. They like to lie in warm places, like the south sides of houses--on the outside--on cool fall days.

And here's a surprise: the beagle eats them! Not as tasty as June bugs, according to her, but certainly edible.

[Jamastiene]

38. We have them here in NC unless what I see in my yard

is some other kind of bug. I've seen lots of those, like in the picture, this year.

Our ladybugs here in Rockingham are friendly and don't pee on you or stink. I just let them be. They are harmless. :shrug:

Lately, though, I've been inundated with bees and wasps. They are everywhere. I just let them bee too. :rofl:

[undeterred]

18. I poured myself a glass of milk tonight and when I lifted it

to drink it there was one of those doing the backstroke in it. I didn't see how it got there.

[PeaceNikki]

21. They're very ninja-like in their tactics.

[Blue Diadem]

23. Ladybugs were driving the poor grandkitty crazy this afternoon.

He spotted one that had landed on the ceiling. That was hilarious watching him trying to figure out how to get up there to get it.

I absolutely hate box elder bugs. We use a soap and water spray on their clusters outside now. Kills them instantly. I only saw a couple of them flying about today, it was mostly those lady bugs hanging on the doors and making it inside.

[grilled onions]

24. We Use Joy For Those Box Elders

It's best to find them in clusters to do the most good. Get a tsp of Joy(only soap that seems to really work for us) and put in a spray bottle. Add water to fill. Spray away. Take care that where you spray can handle dish soap. Our white siding isn't fond of it.
We use one of those bug sucker vacuums when those Japanese beetles sneak in the house. The device is supposed to be for spiders but our spiders seem to know how to avoid getting sucked up by it. It keeps the beetle jucie from being activated and then you can sprinkle the bug cup in the trash. The warmer October is the worse the breeding season for these two pests. Grrrrrr.

[Critters2]

26. We had our Blessing of the Animals this afternoon. About a brazilian lady bugs showed up.

Wasn't that nice of 'em?


And these tiny, tiny little black speck things that REALLY HURT when they bite!!

Haven't actually seen many box elders, yet, though.

Caterpillars are starting to crawl across the country roads, too. They do that just to watch the crazy vegan swerve to try to miss 'em.

[Mugu]

29. Oh yes, the tiny little black specks that bite.

They're called NoSeeUms(sp?)around here. I'm hoping to get a photo of them before the cold, but there are several difficulties to overcome. Not the least of which is nobody wants to see a photo of my hairy arm.

Regards, Mugu

Lady bugs come in different colors and with/without spots.

[nadine_mn]

27. should have a warning on this...

:scared:

hate em hate em hate em


went to my mom's house 30 miles from here... same view... our house doesn't get the infestation... which surprises me

[krispos42]

34. I've got a dozen ladybugs on my ceiling right now

Only they're not ladybugs, I don't think. I think they're those orange wannabe ones.

And there's a tree covered in box elders in the back.

[astral]

36. I never seen a 'swarm' of ladybugs

and I never seen 'em in anything but red and black.

And I still think they're PURTY. But since I now know they can bite (!) and pee on you, I don't think I'll be picking any up to let them crawl on my hand (like I used to do as a kid.)

We don't get too many ladybugs up here.
No horseflies
Not too many colorful autumn leaves, either.

[FloridaJudy]

37. This is what it's going to look like here any day now

They're called "love bugs" because they fly hooked together in copulating pairs. They're not harmful, except to the paint on your car, when they smash against it - sort of a cautionary example of the hazards of unsafe sex. The air is thick with them every fall and spring.