Ladybugs Aren't All Ladies

The invasion has begun. Yes, they're back. Hundreds and hundreds of ladybugs, swarming our yard, covering our back door, squirming into our kitchen window. They're getting in the house somehow, we just don't know how yet.

They're everywhere. Red, polka-dotted, evil, falling into your food/bathtub/hair/coffee, crawling on your ceiling, buzzing into the light fixtures. They're everywhere, and I've had enough.

Just look at that bug. Sinister, isn't it??

Yeah, I know that ladybugs supposedly bring good luck, and they are "nature's crusaders." In fact, a ladybug can eat up to 20 rose aphids a day, which is great news for flower gardeners. Many farmers have ordered ladybugs from distributors in Asia, due to their sustainability and vigor. Most ladybugs live one season, but the foreign imported ladybugs live for many seasons and hibernate during the winter months. Virginia is seeing many of these imported ladybugs.

Great news for farmers, bad news for my kitchen window.

I tried spraying them with water and scooping them into a Tupperware container to get them outside. They resisted. I tried scooping them with the flyswatter, they again resisted. When the masses got the memo and invaded my kitchen, I was ready. Armed with the removable canister from my Bissell Lift Off, I vacuumed them up. All 234,216,997 of them.

The battle may have been won, but the war is not over. They will return tomorrow, and my vacuum and I will be ready.