The other day a friend and I walked in to Bible study and caught our hostess with her broom raised above her head. We laughed, thinking she was nabbing a spider web before people arrived, but when I saw her take a swing with the broom, I knew that wasn't what she was after. It was a ladybug.
We had some unseasonably warm weather recently and we all had our houses open, getting in one last airing before winter remembers it's supposed to settle in for a few months. Rose bushes bloomed again, and my apple trees are thoroughly confused and thinking about budding even while this year's dead leaves are hanging on. Everyone was outside taking advantage of the weather and doing those last minute projects that didn't get done before it snapped cold a few weeks ago. I love these warm spells!
But there's one thing I don't like about them. The ladybugs! Every year we get inundated with ladybugs when the weather does this. When you open the door, they zoom in and then congregate at the windows. I know that they're considered beneficial insects in some areas, but let me ya, around here they're a huge nuisance! They sneak in and seek out every nook and cranny and crawl into your woodwork and the tracks of your windows. Then they die and you're forever sweeping up their carcasses. Some years it gets so bad that we use vacuums to suck them all up. And we're always careful not to squash them because the orange ones stink. And some bite.
Ladybugs are not our friends.
That night at Bible study my friend was clueless why our hostess was swinging her broom around if she wasn't after a spider web. You see, she's a fresh transplant from California and still learning about the quirks of Southern Illinois. Our lack of love for ladybugs confused her since they buy ladybugs in California. *Shiver* They can have mine!
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same thing happens here! I loved it
ReplyDeleteHa! I once wrote an article about pest control called Ladybugs Can Swim. Of course we know the Asian Lady Beetles were brought in by our soybean farming friends to control aphids. Unfortunately... well, just so you know, our favorite place to toss 'em is the toilet.
ReplyDeleteHehe- that coulda been me a dozen years ago. Love this!
ReplyDeleteLoL--ladybugs swimming! Yes, we've done that too. Effective, to say the least! =]
ReplyDeleteI know they have their purpose, but I just don't appreciate them swarming in my house! grrrrr.
These bugs look like ladybugs but are called "bean beetles" in Indiana. They come in off the soybean harvests. Ugh. Horrible creatures. The best way to get rid of them is to vacuum them. They stink! They might help the farmers, but they can be pests in our houses.
ReplyDeleteI love your dog! :)
Well! I guess ladybugs are not just a Southern Illinois quirk! Cool! Misery love company and it sounds like I have LOTS of company! hehe.
ReplyDeleteI vacuumed ladybug wings off my carpet today. Gotta love it. not.
Gracie and I will see you in two weeks! =] =]
I so relate when I read your post. They aren't much of a problem in Ohio but my mom had our childhood home demolished (it was very old) and built brand new. The first day she lived in...there they were...ladybugs. I still find them every time I visit.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, as usual!
Okay--I totally do not relate to the ladybug problem. Yeah, I'm a true So Californian. Where ladybugs know there place, they stay outside right where they belong! :0)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I can't imagine having ladybugs swarm inside my home--I would hate it too!