dang lady bugs

[greenoak]

it must be spring we are being invaded by those dang foriegn lady bugs....they get inside and they bite....

[Spider]

What have you got there? Lady bugs don't bite, normally -they are beneficial insects and eat aphids (little plant-destroying parasites.)

[greenoak]

we have a new kind up here...chinese i thinlk....they are paler and come in huge amounts and they really do bite..they arent native....kind of like your fire ants down there....we still have our regular ones..

[Spider]

Aha! Here's something I'm trying this year regarding fire-ants - may be useful for biting ladybugs. One of the troubles with insecticides is they often taste nice to animals and children, causing illness or worse. not to mention polluting rivers and streams and killing beneficial insects.

I am using Sevin dust. It dries out the pests, is very localized - you virtually have to put the dust directly on the insects, or put some down where they will walk over it. Sevin dust is benign to animals and humans. They use it in animal feed to kill weavels, so you will be able get it from your local feed store.

So far, it seems to be working on my fire ants and my dogs are not affected by the dust ('cept they may be a bit more thirsty, so I must make sure there is water down at all times - which I do anyway.)

I hope this helps.

[Paper Shredder Clay]

Wow, I never knew they bit either.

[Harold Mansfield]

Biting Lady Bugs. That's news to me too.
Our big infestation here is killer bees. Watched them get closer and closer every year until 2 years ago, they landed like a pack of tourists here for a weekend.
Of course the name doesn't help calm your fears.

We also have some weird bat fungus that is killing them off in record numbers, making it's way down the state.