Meet the Beetles

2014-10-14 15.54.15LIFE: When you live in an old drafty house you never know who’s going to drop in for a visit.

We have had visits by mice; and flying squirrels. If our walls were glass or clear plastic, it would look like a huge ant farm in the walls. Last week we had the annual October infestation of Asian lady beetles. When Whitney was leaving to go to her next client, she said,”You sure do have a lot of ladybugs!” I told her we get some every year.

2014-10-14 15.06.36When I went back into Kathy’s room to check on her, they were really getting out of hand. They were all over the ceiling. There were all over the walls. It was a warm October day and they came in seeking a warm place to hibernate. In the spring, the ones that are still alive go back the way they came. But, in the meanwhile many of them die and make a mess. When you crush them they stink. Or they squirt their blood on you. I vacuumed up most of them. When Pat arrived that evening to get Kathy ready, a few of the buggers were getting kind of close to Kathy. She was worried that Kathy would inhale them while she was sleeping. Just what I need to worry about.

That gave me a couple of days of excitement. They are all gone or in hiding. Now back to more mundane things. I did try to find ladybug traps online that I could build or buy. But I figured, by the time they arrive the plague would be over. 2014-10-14 14.59.09

(By the way, these are not true American Lady Bugs. These are the orange invasive ones that were “introduced” and are taking over.)