As one of the prettier pests, ladybugs tend to be a crowd favorite compared to insects like spiders and other beetles. They are typically smaller and appear harmless to you and your loved ones. While finding a ladybug in your home is good luck in some cultures, you might start to get annoyed when they swarm your Washington D.C. home in numbers. Because they can invade your home quickly and begin to cause damage, it’s best to contact a Washington, D.C. pest control expert to keep them under control.
How To Identify Lady Beetles
All types of ladybugs tend to invade your home when they are looking to escape the cold. Their dome-shaped, oval bodies easily identify them with six short legs. Depending on the type of ladybug, they can have stripes, spots, or no markings. Seven-spotted ladybugs are orange and red, with three dots on each side and one in the middle. They have black heads with white patches and are colorful to avoid predators. When ladybugs feel threatened, they will either play dead or secrete foul-tasting, oily fluid from the joints in their legs.
Lady Bugs Are Not Harmful But Can Be Problematic
While ladybugs are not harmful to humans, they can become a problem for homeowners when hundreds try to hibernate in your Washington D.C. home in the fall and winter. They can also release a smelly, toxic fluid from their joints when stressed or frightened to deter ladybug predators. In large numbers, ladybugs are persistent pests that can become a nuisance rather quickly if they breach the walls or windows of your home. Sometimes their secretions can stain upholstery, rugs, and partitions and cause people to develop allergic reactions such as hay fever or skin reactions. While ladybugs might be beneficial to protecting your garden, a lady bug infestation in your home can be pretty unpleasant.
Ladybugs can bite if provoked, though they rarely break the skin, are not overly harmful, and cannot transmit parasites or diseases. However, some people experience allergic reactions to a ladybug bite. While ladybugs are poisonous and contain a mild toxic component, they are only dangerous if ingested.
Factors That Attract Lady Beetles To Your House
Ladybugs are attracted to your home because it provides a warm and safe place to nest and live. They typically find their way under doors, windows, basements, and drainage pipes. For this reason, you can typically find ladybug colonies near windows or corners. They also travel inside via houseplants that you transfer from the outdoors to inside your home before winter. Once inside, they use their chemical secretions to attract the remainder of their colony. This is why its important to implement a form of lady bug control when the signs of an infestation are noticed.
Some ways ladybugs may enter your home is through crevices in the house, including:
- Window panes.
- Door jams.
- Broken window screens.
- Siding crevices.
- Cracked foundations.
Once inside, they use their chemical secretions to attract the remainder of their colony. Contrasting light-dark features also tend to attract ladybugs, including:
- Dark shutters on a light background.
- Light shutters on a dark background.
- Windows edged with light-colored trim.
- Gutters and downspouts on contrasting siding.
In addition, dwellings near fields or woods are especially prone to infestation, although all Washington D.C. homes can be infested regardless of location.
The Best Way To Get Rid Of A Lady Bug Problem
While a ladybug infestation may not directly threaten you, your family, or your pets, it’s best to eliminate these unwanted houseguests to avoid any issues. The easiest way to do this is to get professional help from the expert technicians at Miche Pest Control. As a top-rated, family-owned and operated pest control company serving Washington DC, we can provide eco-friendly and safe solutions for everyone in your family.