Ladybirds

Seem to be quite a few in the garden now.

They hibernate indoors then, as spring emerges, they do too.

Our flat couldn't be colder!! Yet we were literally infested with the blessed things. In theory I don't mind them but such numbers of these creatures gave me the heeby jeebies.

Still not a ladybird in sight around here
What part of the country are you in *mrsgreenfingers ? Also
I ve never smelt a ladybird
Perhaps my house is too cold for them …,there you go that’s your answer live in a cold, old house like mine

We have loads. When pruning, I have had to rescue any number from the cuttings before binning them. But they do seem lethargic and unable to fly

I loathe them, really do. To say I am plagued with them is an understatement. They do not fly out of the windows as suggested. Each year have them literally covering walls on the back of the house, my neighbour couldn't believe it.

They are eating our native ladybirds, invasive species from Asia and carry a fungal/STD virus. Smell totally vile when picked up and this is why the birds not keen on eating them. They don't bite in my experience as picked up of loads and loads of them.

In the curtains, crawling up the bathroom and bedroom walls, in the curtains and even finding in the bedding. Honestly it's like something out of a horror film and yet neighbours don't seem to be bothered with them. So why me? Not nice at all and I love wildlife and nature but hate this smelly horrid infestions. Had workman in recently and he said never seen anything like it. They come out when a warm spell. We have sealed up everywhere they could come in but somehow to my amazement they still get in. Will have to take a picture next time the wall is covered and you will all see what I mean, its freaky.

The weather is milder and they've come out of hibernation. Just open the window and let them fly. They are one of our more beneficial insects and shouldn't be hoovered up or just left to die, looking out to freedom.

Hope we get some,my granddaughter has always loved ladybirds.

We have loads around the window frames in our house. They’ve been there for a few weeks and they climb onto my finger and I put them out onto the windowsill and watch them fly away.🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞

You are blessed, leave them alone. They like something there and do no harm at all.

In 1976 we had a very hot summer and a plague of ladybirds, maybe we are in for another swelter

I’ll look out for mine. I buy ladybird larvae every year to put on my roses & fruit trees. No more greenfly.

Ladybirds used to hibernate in the large sash cavities of our old house, they appeared inside the panes in the autumn and again on the outside of the panes once we had the first warm day.
I wasn't really bothered by them, but on one occasion there were so many that we had to vaccuum them up to clear the window sills as they were falling onto the floor - if any get crushed they smell really nasty.

Same here, each sunny day I find a handful in just one of the bedrooms, haven't seen them anywhere else but have never liked them and have sprayed window frame with peppermint oil to no effect also tried spider spray and eucalyptus oil but nothing has worked so far. All ideas welcomed!

The south "wing" of our house (not that grand, really!), gets inundated with harlequin ladybirds. The previous owner said that the adjacent sycamore tree was the culprit. That has now been disposed of, so we shall see what happens this year.

Also, the suggestion from somewhere to use citronella incense sticks seemed to work. The ladies don't like them but it does them no harm. They just go elsewhere.

We're in North London and we've had them in our bedrooms. Only one or two at a time, but almost daily.

Aveline

For the past few months we seem to have been invaded by ladybirds. They're mostly around the windows and windowsills but also in various other places around the flat. They're no bother but I do wonder if I'm missing something. It's not just us though. Others neighbours were talking about them too. Is there anything I should do or just leave well alone and wait for them to disappear?

I have just read that they start to re-emerge in March and start to immediately mate in March/April, so with a milder temperature, I guess you have your answer.
Not seen any here in my part of Yorkshire yet.

We have them all throughout the winter in our bedroom and en suite both of which are warm on sunny days as they face south. I assume coming from window frames or through from the loft somehow. I looked it up and they are emerging because the temperature is warmer than they usually hibernate in. They need to be put somewhere together and where it is cool but sheltered , so we catch ours and take them to the shed. Otherwise they dehydrate or starve. They are meant to form clumps in dark protected corners together. Perhaps you could catch yours and pop them in your coolest room, by the window frames? But ours just keep coming almost daily there will be between one and four new ones! I hope they survive somehow but it is a worrying sign of the times.

My sunny porch has been inundated with them for the past 2 days, probably 20 or 30 at a time so I open the windows and some fly away and the others need a helping hand. I have always loved ladybirds since being a child and have no fear of getting them onto my hands and fingers to put outside
However ny brother who lives with me is scared to touch them as he insists they bite but I've never been bitten - has anyone else? Should I be more careful?

At one point last week there were at least 100 massed along the top of a sunny window. I quite like ladybirds but that was just too much. I don't like to think of such an infestation of creepy-crawlies in the house. However,when DH came home I called him to show them to him but they'd gone? Into the woodwork somewhere. 😱

Here in north west Wales we always seen to have ladybirds outside for a lot of the winter. They don’t seem to move much

It was so warm and sunny today that we had the patio doors wide open. I rescued at least 6 ladybirds and put them outside again. Love ladybirds.

Aveline , dont worry about throwing them out if the 4 floor window- they will open their wings and take flight. I threw a few out of the back door yesterday and watched them fly away.

Yes, a little bit of sunshine and they think it's spring.
They will have been hibernating indoors as others have said and are waking up ready to go out.

You could quite easily be talking about us GNetters NotSpaghetti
Hope we have lots of ladybugs this year!

Aveline

I think they must live in the walls of the building. Poor things they'll not get out to the garden. I know they can theoretically fly but I don't like to throw them out the window as we're on the 4th floor.

It depends on the type of ladybird.

Some, the Harlequin ladybirds, are invaders and our native ones are dying off because they are having to compete for resources. The Harlequins are more likely to be invading our homes.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/20/harlequin-ladybirds-declared-uks-fastest-invading-species
Old article but still relevant.

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/why-harlequin-ladybirds-are-invading-our-homes.html