Last year in the fall, I can’t remember precisely when, lady bugs invaded my house, or fake lady bugs, I don’t know which.  All fall and winter and spring I was sucking them up into my vacuum hose.  Then they disappeared in the summer and I haven’t seen them since.  I was thinking I was safe.  I was seriously feeling a sense of security because they haven’t appeared, until today.  Saturday October 23rd, 2010 was D-day for ladybugs to once again invade my house.  I spent the morning folding laundry, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping and vacuuming.  Around 10:30 I looked up from washing the toilet and on the bathroom window were a dozen ladybugs.  I put the toilet brush down and ran to our bedroom.  Another dozen were wandering around the glass on that window too.  Every window pane told the same story.  I took the trash out and all around my house was a frezie of activity. Hundreds of ladybugs were swarming around the white aluminum siding and circling the window looking for a way into my hundred year old house.  They would bump around and then land, their black wings folding under the red spotted shell, settling themselves in for the rest of the year and half of next.  I’ve only had 4 months without them and now I will be shaking them out of my curtains onto the floor so that my vacuum hose doesn’t suck my curtains up with them.  In my main bathroom I have two sets of curtains. I bought some white gauzy curtains and was satisfied until it was pointed out to me that at night that curtain wasn’t a strong barrier to the outside world so an ivory curtain also hangs in front of the window.  Getting the ladybugs eradicated from that window is a lot of work.

Of course I could just not even bother.  Why do they bug me so?  Why can’t we co-exist?  Honestly, somedays I don’t mind sharing my windows and walls with them.  And somedays I just want a bug free house.

Advertisement