Those DARNED steroidal LADYBUGS!!

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NorthernMN

NorthernMN

New Member
Jan 16, 2013
13
Just south of Grand Rapids Minnesota, Sugar Lake
I like to work smart, so i tend to haul in a quarter cord at a time, plus in a woodsy lakehome it kinda looks rustic. Only problem is, gee whiz, i am getting THROTTLED by those amped up on steriods Asain lady bugs! You Minnesota and Wisconsin folks know what I'm talking about, probably everywhere else too, if they can live in northern Minnesota like me! So....anyone have any ideas, or am I gonna hafta just keep my wood outside until I burn? (it doesn't seem to burn as well when it's ice cold and -30 below zero Farenheight) Whattaya got??

Jimmy in Minnie
1976 Garrison 2 All original with tool set
 
I used to bring mine in, but haven't been this year. Had the ladybug issues also, but think they were coming in from other avenues in the house.
If your going to store some wood inside, you just have to come to grips with the fact that some insect will come from the wood, or under the bark on the wood if any.
The one advantage of the wood in the house was the drying effect it had on the wood and it also added a little more moisture to the home air while it was drying. I am not having issues getting the new loads to relight, so It stays loaded on the back porch, just outside the back door.
You can try smaller loads stored in a tote or container with a lid.
I have often time though of building a rack that was encased with openings with screen over them for air circulation. But feel it is easier just to leave it outside on the porch.
 
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So the main ingredient in flea spray for dogs, horse spray, and the raid home defenceman spray, along with many insecticides used for gardening and the lawn is permethrin. It was originally derived from chrysanthemums, totally harmless to people and dogs. (it is not so nice to fish and cats though ) The best way, read cheapest, to get the stuff is to make your own from horse spray. Buy it at a feed store or tractor supply. I use it as a general spray around the house and for the dog when we go into the woods. A couple of sprays and it keeps fleas and ticks away.

Now for how I use it with my wood. I hit the pile after ccs and then about every other month when I remember. Kills all bug. Use it in the house monthly as well. For me a $6 bottle of concentrate lasts a year . I don't store my wood inside but I do leave a pretty big pile near the house and this gives me piece of mind that I won't have any problems with bugs getting into the house.
 
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Augie said:
So the main ingredient in flea spray for dogs, horse spray, and the raid home defenceman spray, along with many insecticides used for gardening and the lawn is permethrin. It was originally derived from chrysanthemums, totally harmless to people and dogs. (it is not so nice to fish and cats though ) The best way, read cheapest, to get the stuff is to make your own from horse spray. Buy it at a feed store or tractor supply. I use it as a general spray around the house and for the dog when we go into the woods. A couple of sprays and it keeps fleas and ticks away.

Now for how I use it with my wood. I hit the pile after ccs and then about every other month when I remember. Kills all bug. Use it in the house monthly as well. For me a $6 bottle of concentrate lasts a year . I don't store my wood inside but I do leave a pretty big pile near the house and this gives me piece of mind that I won't have any problems with bugs getting into the house.
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I spray my pants with it before doing any work in the woods. I've seen friends pulling off ticks left and right while I haven't seen any. Have a friend who sprays his entire yard twice a year with it. Seems a bit excessive, but I guess one of his kids had to be treated for Lymes and he doesn't want to worry about that anymore.
 
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jdp1152 said:
I spray my pants with it before doing any work in the woods. I've seen friends pulling off ticks left and right while I haven't seen any. Have a friend who sprays his entire yard twice a year with it. Seems a bit excessive, but I guess one of his kids had to be treated for Lymes and he doesn't want to worry about that anymore.
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when you say "sprays it" and uses "it" are you referring to the same chemical as the other gentleman? the horse spray stuff? I have an inside cat, so i can use that outside - i just wonder what to use inside?
 
I never store any firewood in my cabin. When I return after being away for a few weeks, there are often ladybugs all over the place (mostly dead). They aren't coming in on my wood. YMMV...
 
I can bet the majority of those beetles are not comming in on your wood. They are getting into your house from any little crack they can find. My house is loaded with those buggers. They simmer down when it gets below zero, but get a sunny day when it warms up outside they go nuts.
Horrid tasting things, did you ever had one land in your coffee or acidentally eaten one that may have landed in your sandwich. ewwww ;sick
 
Send them to me! I'll be happy to overwinter them in the greenhouse.
 
I've had them for years, many years before I ever burned wood. Also knew someone who had them bad and that was in a nice apartment. Some years are just worse than others.

Never tasted one but when you touch them they smell exactly like pea pods. It's sometimes fun to drop them into a burning candle and watch the wings pop.
 
Once in a while, one of those little critters gets roasted on my stove. This sends my wife into a panic, since she is convinced that the stove will eventually burn the house down. Personally, I think her use of candles and leaving paper products near the toaster are much more likely to cause a fire. The lady beetles give the kid something to put in her bug zoo though.
 
MishMouse said:
I can bet the majority of those beetles are not comming in on your wood. They are getting into your house from any little crack they can find. My house is loaded with those buggers. They simmer down when it gets below zero, but get a sunny day when it warms up outside they go nuts.
Horrid tasting things, did you ever had one land in your coffee or acidentally eaten one that may have landed in your sandwich. ewwww ;sick
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Been there.....spat one out of my coffee yesterday morning. <>
And I agree - they don't need firewood to get into a home. We had a house back in the 90s that was lousy with them every winter - and we weren't burning any wood at all there. They come in through any crack they can find. The more cracks - the more lady bugs.
 
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begreen said:
Send them to me! I'll be happy to overwinter them in the greenhouse.
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If you don't have them yet, count your blessings. They are nothing like our native ladybugs...they've actually outcompeted them. Unbelievable problem. Come in the house in amazing ways...nest in the frames of windows and sliding glass doors...thousands of them may be in your home. They can cover the exterior siding in the fall so thickly you can't see the siding. They eat books and clothing, rugs...you don't want them. They don't die in a few weeks when you are away either. They simply become inactive because the house is cold. A little sun, a little heat, and they are walking all over the place again. I've filled mason jars with them. This past year, and this winter, were much better than in the last ten years or so. I'm hoping last summers heat and drought was hard on them. I can't believe it is still legal to import and sell these things. Keep your garden healthy, don't use pesticides, and you won't have a problem with your crops. Reason I don't have a greenhouse...don't want to deal with all the bug issues. Love gardening, start all my own plants, do a lot of propagating...but do it all with natural sunlight, heat from my woodstove and heated soapstone slabs, leaves, straw, horse manure, compost, bone meal etc...have no issue with bugs bothering my crops. Ticks are another issue. I may try the horse spray on the dog and myself...tick diseases scare me. They were so bad last year I had to keep the dog on leash...he'd get 20 in minutes. I took a fair number off myself also unfortunately.
 
I bought a DustBuster just to use on ladybugs. I go in the cabin, spend 15 minutes sucking them up, dump them outdoors, and resume my life.
 
BG you can have every single one of them.

But, you have to remember they aren't Lady bugs they are Asian beetles.
Link: http://www.ehow.com/info_7851787_differences-between-asian-beetles-ladybugs.html
While Lady Bugs only eat the critters that eat your plants, Asian beetles can also eat your plants.
So come planting you may not have much left in your greenhouse. !!!

Myself I like Lady Bugs, though they are very hard to find since the Asian beetle invasion.
 
Permethin is great on your dogs coat or you clothes, but don't bother putting it on your skin. You absorb it and it won't help, won't bother you but it isn't doing anything. Use DEET for that. The cheapest permethin you can get in in horse spray concentrate.

The next time you go to the hardware store look on the active ingredients for insecticides that are used around the yard,garden and in the home. It is one of the oldest and still a good one. I've been using it for a few years so far, no third eye yet.
 
A big AMEN on the permethrin. That stuff is incredible, I can't believe how good it works for ticks. I spray Sawyer bug repellent on my hunting clothes, once in the fall before deer season, and once in the spring before spring gobbler season. I used to get COVERED in ticks before, now that I use that stuff I rarely see a single one and if I do, it's dead.....

Never thought about using it for the woodstacks to ward off spiders and such......I'm going to check into the horse spray at the local feed mill. Thanks for the tip, Augie.....
 
You know them dang lady bugs were introduced by the U.S. Dept of Ag, back in '90 or '91 to help control aphids in the soy crop. You would think they would learn from the accidental introduction of non-native species of bugs and plants, EAB, zebra mussels and the like, that its a bad idea no matter well intended. The Asian Lady Bug has no natural enemies, it bites, it lets off a powerful stink and it leaves a trail of poop that will eat the paint off you walls!!!!
 
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Since this is a Asian Beetle thread.
I have a question for the people that have them.
I know there has been allot of sickness going around, has been since these things made their yearly appearance.
I am just wondering if those of us who typically don't suffer allergies during the winter months are being affected by these bugs.
Have anyone experienced respitory issues since they appeared?
At my house for the past few years we seem to get a cold that does seem to leave it lasts from around September-October through Feb-March.
 
Bow chick a wow wow._g
 
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