Lady beetles invading your home? Don't worry, they won't last long
CBC
Orange, spotted and smelly: three adjectives that could describe the Asian lady beetle.
It's an invasive species that New Brunswickers have become familiar with, especially after the recent bout of warm temperatures.
George Scott, co-owner of Scott's Nursery in Fredericton, said he got several calls from people asking about the bugs showing up in their homes, but he said there isn't a very good recommendation he can give on to get rid of them —besides breaking out the vacuum cleaner.
"I think a lot of people are finding them a pest, just because of the sheer numbers that have been turning up," said Scott.
But Scott said they do have some positives because they eat aphids — a common garden pest.
Biologist Stephen Heard said there are actually about 500 species of lady beetles, also known as lady bugs, across North America.
But he said the Asian lady beetle, which some people may have spotted in their home or around their houses in the last few days, gets a lot of attention — and not always the good kind.
The beetles are big fans of overwintering on cliffs, which is why they'll often settle on the sides of homes and sometimes even get inside when trying to worm their way into cracks and crevices.
"When they sort of make it through the cracks into your house, well, they don't know what to do because this is too warm," he said.
He said there are a couple of reasons why people don't tend to like them. One, because there can be lots of them — dozens or even hundreds. And two, their bright orange colour is a warning sign to predators that they smell and taste bad, similar to monarch butterflies.
When squished, they release a smelly odour and can even stain some surfaces.
"For all those reasons, we're not big fans of them in our houses."
Heard said the bugs have a fascinating history in North America because there were multiple attempts to introduce them deliberately as a control agent for aphids in crops. Those attempts failed.
Eventually, they became established near New Orleans and have been moving up from the south since the late 1980s.
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