Thursday, October 30, 2008

Escaping from the Asian Lady Beetles

It happens every year: Once the farmers have harvested all the soybeans in the fields, the bugs who lived in those fields start looking for a warm place to spend the winter. Those spots on the outside of my window? Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles. They are not the ladybugs I used to read about in Mother Goose (fly away home); these pests were imported by our government to help control aphids.

Have a closer look. For a really close look, click on the picture. If you smash these little creatures, they have an unpleasant odor; they've been known to bite, too.

They look for cracks and crevices around windows and doors where they can sneak inside. They want to live with me! At the old house, many of them did get in, and in spring it seems I spent half my time vacuuming up ladybugs. We'll see how many of them make it inside this trailer house. It's much better insulated, with no drafts at all.
So far the only ones I've seen inside sneaked in when we opened the door. By the way, there's no extermination method for them, which you'll see if you go to this USDA site and scroll down to "prevention and control".

Anyhow, I needed to get away from the lady beetles for awhile, so Sadie and I went to the cabin. The bugs don't like shade, so there are very few of them in the woods. I started a fire and read from a book called "Poems For A Good and Simple Life". With no distractions, I could ponder the meaning of each line.



We stayed for a couple of hours before the evening chill got the best of us.


Amazing how something written in the 1600's can apply so well to today.


I love this. So short, so simple, so true.

10 comments:

  1. Aren't they weird... no none preditors for them. What where the scientist thinking, bringing them over here. They seem to be better when the farmers plan corn across the road, which they did this year. Praise the Lord.

    We also live down the road from a cow farm... so we get lots of flies in the fall as well. Flies and beetles... what a mixture.

    I guess.. at least we don't have aphids on the side of our house -- right? give thanks in all things. LOL

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  2. Anonymous9:41 AM

    I noticed the little bugs all over the courthouse in Harrisonville yesterday when I went to vote early! Had 3 of them on me when I got back to my car and noticed the smell when I brushed them off.

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  3. my outside deck & patio doors are covered with them!!!!!!!

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  4. Thanks for the poems donna, we havent had too many beetles this year....we only had 7 days between summer and winter temps.
    michigan loopymama

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  5. Lucky you to have a lovely place in the woods to get away from it all and so close to home!
    Sandra

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  6. They always sneak in and I find them everywhere at my house. Even had some in the bedroom. I suppose I could have carried it in and upstairs...??? I love the eternity poem. Good one to remember. 'On Ya' - ma

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  7. I haven't noticed any ladybugs of any type, either Asian or native. We do have the native ladybugs occasionally trying to get inside with the first real cold snap, and we see them on trees, gathering under the bark, or on houses trying to get under the siding.

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  8. I hate those little boogers. Loved the photos from the cabin, especially the fire.

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  9. I wonder if these are a different Lady Bug then we have here. Ours are red and see very few and I like them. Never noticed an odor.

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  10. My goodness, I have been missing alot! Glad to finally catch up! Nice rides on the bike and on Blue!

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