We always loved ladybugs -- they are so colorful and they eat garden aphids. What's not to like? If we found an occasional one in the house, we always took them outside and told them to fly away home. But in late October of 2003, we stayed in Weston, West Virginia when the area had what they called a ladybug swarm. We had those little red beetles all over the RV, outside and in. Bad enough outside (hard on the paint job), but kind of interesting to see. But inside, oh dear. Down in the window tracks, in the light fixtures, all over. That was not fun. When there are that many of them, they are not at all attractive. They actually have a stinkbug odor if you smash one, whether accidentally or on purpose. It was painful to have to vacuum up the little things, but we really had no choice. It took us a couple of weeks to get rid of all of them, even vacuuming every single day (something I try hard to avoid). We sure hope they don't swarm this year, at least not in our house. We have ladybugs flying around here in Branson and quite a few manage to fly into the RV whenever we open the door. Just like us, they're looking for a warm place to spend the winter.
Nicer one at a time
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