I live in the north of England (Yorkshire) and for the last few weeks i have been having a problem with harlequin ladybirds in my daughters bedroom. They just seem to appear on the ceiling and window, even though the window has not been open in a while. They have appeared in numbers ranging from one to nine at the moment. I have tried looking for their point of entry but had no joy in finding it. I know they must be getting in somewhere but i haven't a clue! Has anyone else had this problem and if so how did you get rid of the infestation. My daughter has taken to sleeping downstairs on some occasions because of this and i really would appreciate any advice.
Check the seal around the windows in her room. It doesn't take much space for them to get thru. My husband's office is on the 6th floor of their building, one day he emailed me about seeing a ladybug (ladybird) crawling along the window ledge outside, wondering how she got that high up. A few minutes later he emailed me to say she had made her way inside his office. He found a small box to put her in, brought her home that evening and released her in our backyard, he didn't want the cleaning people to suck her up in the vacuum that night.
I have the occasional one visit my at my workspace here from time to time. I really enjoy it when I spy one but I have absolutely no idea how they get in either How are they bothering your daughter? Has she a general fear of creepy crawlies?
Although my daughter isn't keen on creepy crawlies in general she used to love ladybirds. The problem is when she is going to bed on an night, any that are in her room seem to take to flying around when the light goes on and they seem to crash land. The thought of them crash landing on her bed is enough to put her off sleeping in there. It just seems odd that they are congregating in her room, when we used to see the odd ones in the garden it was a case of "ah how cute is that ladybird" but it is a whole new ballgame now they are squatting in the bedroom. I have checked the seal around the window and it seems secure but i know i am obviously missing something as they are getting in somewhere.
check any plants you have indoors incase mommy ladybird has had some babies there, also there has been reports of mass ladybirds in certain area's of the uk so check out bbc countryfile.
Thank you, I did check out the BBC site and found it pretty interesting. These bugs are the real bullies of the ladybird clan! I am still having an ongoing fight to rid the room of them and i still cant find their point of entry. I also noticed the other day that some of them are sheltering in the parasol outside, while this doesn't bother me as they are outside. I think it may be a good a time as any to shake them off and store the brolly away for the winter.Apparently they find each other by releasing a scent and i don't want to encourage them near the house. Dya know it may seem really petty but i just want rid of them. They make my daughter's room smell when trying to remove them as they release this reflex blood, which is yellow and stains. arrrhhh!!! ok thats enough of me ranting.
Good luck, hope you get rid of them. I believe these ladybirds have reached us, too, and we're ordered to squash them when we see them. They damage plants and eat the eggs and larvae of the red ladybirds that we like. Their origin is somewhere in Asia.
