Ladybird Infestation

tsinc80697 · 20 Mar 2017 at 14:15

So it seems that prior to purchasing and moving in to our house, a large number of ladybirds decided to hibernate in the loft over winter. Now that the weather is warming up they are starting to appear (specifically in one room where the loft hatch is) throughout the house.

I'm going to look in to local pest control visiting to see how to get rid of them but if they fumigate the loft will that simply kill the ones that are in there and I'll then need to go up and remove them all and find out how they have gotten in?

Would this involve removing all of the insulation too as they could be in amongst that and would I therefore need new insulation? It's not boarded up there and is roughly 120 square meters.

Has anyone had a similar problem with ladybirds? I've been reading around that they aren't harmful and don't lay eggs/nest but it's in pain in the ass going into a room every day to find 10 new ones in there on the windows.

a1ex2001 · 20 Mar 2017 at 14:22

I wouldn't worry about removing the dead ones assuming your loft is well ventilated they will dry out in no time and just add t your insulation!

Siliconslave · 20 Mar 2017 at 15:05

we've got them in our window frames, as you say not a pest as such but certainly a pain. From previous research i'm not sure theres all that much you can do about them, nor can you really prevent them from returning even if you do get them fumigated out.

kinobestew123 · 20 Mar 2017 at 15:24

I like ladybirds. Can they cause any problems to your house?

tsinc80697 · 20 Mar 2017 at 15:29

kinobestew123 said:
I like ladybirds. Can they cause any problems to your house?

Some can bite (apparently) and they are known to leave yellow stains behind on some surfaces as well as producing a nasty smell if they die and rot.

I don't mind them, but we currently can't use the room as there are around 10 ladybirds appearing overnight every night. It's not exactly a room you can ask someone to sleep in if there are bugs appearing on a daily occurrence!

gort · 22 Mar 2017 at 09:54

Can you not put a decent seal around the loft hatch door? Should really be tight anyway to prevent draughts. That should force them to find a different way out of the loft (through the eaves or gaps in tiles perhaps.

.Griff. · 22 Mar 2017 at 09:56

I wouldn't say we're infested with them but we've seen a lot in our property over the last few weeks.

No idea where they are coming from. We're in a ground floor apartment so I just assumed they were flying in when the windows were open and getting stuck inside.

Can't recall seeing so many in the previous years.

tsinc80697 · 22 Mar 2017 at 11:03

I ended up calling someone out who said that due to where we live it's going to be something we just have to deal with twice a year. He went up and used an aerosol of some sort to cover the whole loft and kill them. No idea if the previous owner has done this or whether it's been left for years!

He said that due to where we live, around November when the first big frost appears the ladybirds will start looking to hibernate somewhere and then in March when the weather warms up they look to go back outside to lay eggs. Looks like it's something we will just have to treat in November to stop them coming in, or minimise the numbers that do, and in March to kill the ones that did get in.

i did phone one nationwide company and they wanted £240 to do the same thing this guy did for £65. I might look in to what he used as I'm not averse to going up and doing it myslf if it's a simple case of fumigating the loft and leaving for a few hours.

gort said:
Can you not put a decent seal around the loft hatch door? Should really be tight anyway to prevent draughts. That should force them to find a different way out of the loft (through the eaves or gaps in tiles perhaps.

Going to look in to sealing the loft hatch more than it is as there are small gaps around the edge.

a1ex2001 said:
I wouldn't worry about removing the dead ones assuming your loft is well ventilated they will dry out in no time and just add t your insulation!

Exactly what the professional said, I thought they may cause problems but they shouldn't a they are so small, thanks

NoobCannon · 24 Mar 2017 at 20:33

Where do you live out of interest?

I had a huge lady bird infestation in my old flat, it had a loft (top floor) and i was growing "plants" up there. Seemed they were attracted to the heat over the winter and upon coming home from work one day my entire bedroom window was coverd in them on the inside and the loft was caked in them.

Went thru a period of hovering them up day after day for a week or so untill i finally had enough and thought id try some of those smoke bug bombs that you set off and go out.

Set it off in morning, went to work and came home to find ladybird armageddon in the loft and my entire bedroom. Unfortunatly lost the pictures of it but let me tell you they STUNK.

Went thru the same thing every year untill i moved out!

R.O.S.S.I · 24 Mar 2017 at 20:47

Haha, have you just openly admitted to growing cannabis in your loft on a public forum? Smooth.

Kaka · 24 Mar 2017 at 21:20

As strange as it sounds but have you tried selling them? They are awesome at controlling aphids which destroy young roses bushes, fruit trees, vegetables and many other plants.

tsinc80697 · 24 Mar 2017 at 21:25

NoobCannon said:
Where do you live out of interest?

I had a huge lady bird infestation in my old flat, it had a loft (top floor) and i was growing "plants" up there. Seemed they were attracted to the heat over the winter and upon coming home from work one day my entire bedroom window was coverd in them on the inside and the loft was caked in them.

Went thru a period of hovering them up day after day for a week or so untill i finally had enough and thought id try some of those smoke bug bombs that you set off and go out.

Set it off in morning, went to work and came home to find ladybird armageddon in the loft and my entire bedroom. Unfortunatly lost the pictures of it but let me tell you they STUNK.

Went thru the same thing every year untill i moved out!

Surrounded by fields, we only have 1 house as a neighbour and there's stables behind us so I think it's just something we'll have to live with!

Didn't have any issues with the aerosol/smoke bomb smelling that he used. I've found some online that work out £7.50-£15 per use so I might buy a few for Nov/March next year and save myself £100 a year.

NoobCannon · 24 Mar 2017 at 21:34

No i meant the piles of dead ladybirds stunk

Smoke bombs worked a treat as i said, shame really As i like ladybirds but sharing your home
With thousands of the things was a bit much.

My old flat was next to a nature reserve and obviously loads of fields etc and a few big lakes.

tsinc80697 · 25 Mar 2017 at 19:34

Ah, I didn't think they would smell, I might have to get up there and vacuum what I can then if there are loads. Not exactly a pleasant job though.

CaptainRAVE · 25 Mar 2017 at 19:53

I don't mind them, but they are a pain when they come into the house rather than go out from their hibernation.

LiE · 25 Mar 2017 at 20:38

Guy provably used something like this:

Indorex Flea Spray https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GKHI2PW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1qT1yb6WCNANG

Kills all bugs dead. I sprayed it in my log cabin killed all the wood lice and spiders. I believe it's effective against most insects. Effective for many months.

Putty · 27 Mar 2017 at 08:44

Hmm, it's a good chance that they are harlequin ladybirds and they can be a massive pain - eating wooden window frames and the like. If they are harlequins they need fumigating/killing as they are an invasive species.

nox_uk · 27 Mar 2017 at 09:17

oh wow, we get a few which are red with black spots. I endeavour to let them out but we are talking one or two a week rather than thousands.

psd99 · 27 Mar 2017 at 10:46

get your mother in law to sleep in that room lol

nox_uk · 27 Mar 2017 at 10:48

the loft??! seems harsh