Has anyone else encountered this thoroughly unpleasant species?
About 6 weeks ago we moved into our new flat, one day I was in the bathroom and on opening a cupboard one of these little b*stards divebombed straight into my face.
"Oh a ladybird how sweet!" I thought and left it alone to get on with it's life.
A few days later we noticed 2 of them on the bedroom ceiling - "odd" we thought. Since then we've seen more and more of them until the other day I counted about 18 of them around the windows...
On clioser inspection they turned out not to be your nice British red ladybird but an asian variant with:
Harlequin Ladybird: Unravelling the story of an alien invader
They are like locusts and swarm in the same way. They hibernate in people's homes and when you put the central heating on they think it's time to come out. Anyway - we've got them and although not in the same numbers that some have reported (thousands of them inside your home) their numbers are growing.....
They swarm, divebomb into you and (apparently) bite. Oh and if you disturb/startle/squash them they excrete a disgusting smelly substance that attracts more of them - nice!
This is what they look like if you get an infestation:
Time to call the exterminators - although the problem is they come into your home from the outside if they decide they 'like' your home...
Any suggestions/experiences/witty comments welcome!
About 6 weeks ago we moved into our new flat, one day I was in the bathroom and on opening a cupboard one of these little b*stards divebombed straight into my face.
"Oh a ladybird how sweet!" I thought and left it alone to get on with it's life.
A few days later we noticed 2 of them on the bedroom ceiling - "odd" we thought. Since then we've seen more and more of them until the other day I counted about 18 of them around the windows...
On clioser inspection they turned out not to be your nice British red ladybird but an asian variant with:
the potential to affect over 1000 of our native species. "In the United States, where the harlequin arrived over 20 years ago, it has been associated with severe declines in native species, "
The harlequin, native to Asia, was introduced to North America and continental Europe as a biological control agent because it eats more pest insects than any other ladybirds. Unfortunately, harlequins will also eat non-pest and beneficial insects, including the larvae of other ladybirds and the eggs and larva of butterflies and moths. Britain's 45 species of native ladybird and these other insects play a key role in our ecosystem, but the harlequin has the potential to jeopardise many of them.
They are like locusts and swarm in the same way. They hibernate in people's homes and when you put the central heating on they think it's time to come out. Anyway - we've got them and although not in the same numbers that some have reported (thousands of them inside your home) their numbers are growing.....
They swarm, divebomb into you and (apparently) bite. Oh and if you disturb/startle/squash them they excrete a disgusting smelly substance that attracts more of them - nice!
This is what they look like if you get an infestation:
Time to call the exterminators - although the problem is they come into your home from the outside if they decide they 'like' your home...
Any suggestions/experiences/witty comments welcome!
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