HELP!!! Ladybug infestation!

[scottandanna]

For the past 2, almost 3 months, we have had an infestation of ladybugs INSIDE our trailer!

Can't get rid of them. Don't know how they are getting in. I think a couple got in and bred, and we now have offspring hatching every couple weeks for a new batch of 30 or 40 bugs each time.

We catch them and throw them out, if we can, because we know they are beneficial insects. The first time, back around Christmas, there were at least 200 in there and I had to vacuum them up and dump them outside. Now, it seems like every time we get a cold front, they reappear.

We have them inside a covered patio, as well. None outside, only in our patio and in our travel trailer.

And they STINK! Like a stinkbug.

How can I stop this infestation?

[jpharley]

They are Asian beetles imported to the U. S. to eat aphids in crop fields. They look a lot like lady bugs. Yes, they stink and they also can bite. We also have been infested with them this past winter. From my on line searches, they supposedly do not breed during the winter and will depart in the Spring. They are just looking for a warm pace. You can buy traps on line. We killed hundreds a day in the beginning but now only have a couple. We picked up our infestation at Gunter Hill COE Campground near Montgomery, AL but you can find them almost anywhere in the states.

[scottandanna]

Yep, we are in the deep south, near Houston. Luckily, we have not been bitten, but both our cat and dog have gotten ahold of them and foamed at the mouth and choked for about 20 minutes before they got the stink out of their mouths.

I think they got onto the outside of my slideouts, and when we pulled the slides in to go to camp at Christmas, they got inside. Now we are stuck with them.

Going to google the traps, b/c we NEED to get rid of them!

How do you tell them apart from ladybugs?

Picture of one attached...

[TinCanTee]

Originally Posted by scottandanna

How do you tell them apart from ladybugs

Google is your friend
Asian_Lady_Beetle_vs_Ladybug

[kvm1970]

Been also fighting with them for several months here in central Texas. Try washing your rig with soap and see if this helps. Think they are on the way out cause we haven't seen as many lately.

[scottandanna]

Google searched...so I set up two solar powered lights that come on automatically when the sun goes down, and wrapped fly paper around both of them. Let's see what we have in the morning...

[Dr4Film]

I first came across these pests at the Blue-Ox facility in Nebraska. I was only there for a few hours to get my Tru-Center repaired.

I too thought that they were lady bugs but the locals told me they were an Asian beetle brought to the US to control the aphids in the soy beans.

There were hundreds all over the windshield and eventually got into the coach. Then once I got to upstate New York the local farmers had them there also in the soy bean fields.

I carried them all the way to Florida and finally got rid of them while in Florida.

Unfortunately that's usually what happens when a predator is brought in to control a pest then you need another predator to control the predator.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[mds1]

We get these in our stick and bricks every winter. They seem to huddle up in the corners of our home where we can vacuum them up. I'd also like to find a way to capture them in the house rather than waiting for them to huddle up. I can see one on our front drapes right now. There will be hundreds of them on the side of the house at one time before winter.

[scottandanna]

I did this for the night, to see if it works. This is on our back patio.

If it works, I will transport it to the trailer tomorrow to let it do its work.

Fly paper around 2 solar powered lights. At dark, the lights will turn on, and hopefully attract these little bug-gers.

Yes, that is a foot/heel grinder to the side. We use it outside so it doesn't leave heel dust in the house...

Sorry I didn't move it before I took the picture.

We do all that stuff outside.

[twogypsies]

We kept the vacuum cleaner out. It had a long wand so we just vacuumed them up. It allowed us to get in the corners good. In a few days we seemed to get them all......or else move. Good luck. They are annoying. We always got them in the Midwest.

[scottandanna]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

We kept the vacuum cleaner out. It had a long wand so we just vacuumed them up. It allowed us to get in the corners good. In a few days we seemed to get them all......or else move. Good luck. They are annoying. We always got them in the Midwest.

There is a wet-or-dry vac just south of this picture. It has been a permanent fixture out there for the past few months.

Scary thing is...I will suck them all up...and 15 minutes later, 10 more are crawling around!!! Starting to feel like Alfred Hitchcocks "The Birds" out there!!!

[travelman2]

Try putting clover spice or bay leaves in dishes and place around your rig. They do not like the scent.

[MnTom]

They are real thick up here in Minnesota too........ All winter long I have found them crawling around.

[travelman2]

In my post it should have been clove spice, not clover spice.