Our Asian Ladies

I wanted to share some info about an pest we have here on the farm. It is the Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis). They look a lot like a Ladybug but are different; their color and spot pattern vary from the Ladybug. They were first introduced in the United States in the early 1900's but did not take hold until the 1980's. The reason they were brought here was to control aphids that destroy crops. They actually do this really well and are a very good bug for crop farmers and gardeners so they are not a pest to them. They are more of a house pest. Let me explain....In the winter they try to find a warm place to stay. One of the main places they like to go is into houses, they will get in the siding and around windows and doors and usually find their way indoors no matter how airtight you think your house is. They aren't destructive to houses or anything, they just fly around in the house and crawl all over the inside walls and windows. It is pretty annoying. We had never known about them or had problems with them until we moved out to the farm. Some of you that came to our house last winter may remember seeing them inside and seeing us vacuum them up trying to get rid of them. That is one of the best ways to get them out once they are in the house, vacuum them up. The only problem with our house is we have like 20 foot high walls and it is impossible to reach the high part of the walls and ceilings to get to them. So, during the winter they are always buzzing around inside and it is annoying. A week or so ago when it was really warm one day I noticed that the beetles were swarming on the outside of the house and starting to work their way in. I did some quick research online and one of the ways they recommended to control them is spray insecticide on the outside of your house which will keep them away. The insecticide they recommended is ones with permethrin. I just happened to have some of this because that is what I use to spray the animals to control flies. So, I sprayed it on the outside of the house. I think it did the trick because since that time I have not seen anymore of them coming inside. This makes us really happy.