Attack of the Ladybugs!

FlyBy has never liked ladybugs. Those sickening little spots. Those creepy little legs. Oh, sure, some people think they’re cute. And we’ll concede that their penchant for munching on aphids is a useful one. But can you imagine a huge mass of ladybugs swarming all over your windows, trying to burrow in through the cracks as you stare in horror?

Well, watch out, dear FlyBy reader. They’ve already hit Pfoho—your House could be next.

Find the details (including survival tips) after the jump.

Okay, okay, so we’re being a little overdramatic. Still, ladybugs have been a very real problem at Pfoho. Two days ago, Benjamin Rahn, a Pfoho tutor, wrote this message in an email sent over the House list:

“This afternoon I noticed some small groups of ladybugs around the windows of our suite—I then went outside to discover that they've taken quite a liking to the outside wall of Moors facing the quad, and so some must have decided to explore inside our slightly-open windows. Folks living in Holmes and Wolbach have reported the same.”

In another thread, several other Pfoho residents complained about the ladybugs, musing that the pests are probably coming inside to escape the cold. Rose Yan ’10 told FlyBy that she hasn’t seen any more ladybugs in her room recently, which could be due to the warmer weather today.

The overall number of ladybugs, thankfully, hasn’t been high—Rahn said he has seen only five to ten by each window. “Had there been 100s it might have been very disturbing,” he added, “but in small groups they're interesting to watch.”

Erin R. Carey ’01, another Pfoho tutor, explained that these bugs are in fact probably not your garden-variety ladybugs. Instead, they are most likely a particular kind of ladybug called Asian lady beetles, which are “an invasive species” and therefore the “more problematic insect.” These pests are apparently a common nuisance in the fall, but neither Carey nor anyone else FlyBy talked to said they remembered ever seeing them at Pfoho before.

Should you find yourself the victim of a ladybug invasion (which will be more likely if your room faces south), here are some ways to deal: Keeping your windows closed is an easy and obvious first step. You can also leave your lamp on, which will attract and trap the little pests. If there are just too many, whip out the vacuum cleaner and clean those suckers up.

Photo credit: Wikimedia/Anderson