We have had some excitement this past week regarding a ladybug and Ivy Lou in my bedroom.
For days I thought the insect on the ceiling was a spider. It was hard to make out what it was from that distance. Then last night I figured out that it was a ladybug.
I’ve always liked ladybugs. I guess if I had to pick my favorite bug, it would in fact be a ladybug. (Never really considered this actually).
When my youngest daughter was in first grade and playing T-ball, I was the assistant coach. And it was my idea to name our team The Ladybugs.
To appease Ivy, I got my yardstick and gently knocked it down from the ceiling mid-week. This was before I knew what it was. It fell behind a dresser so she couldn’t get to it.
The next day, it had crawled back up the wall and was on the ceiling once again.
That is unless it has invited a cadre of relatives inside my apartment to party.
Ivy Is Focused On This Ladybug:
It has driven Ivy crazy. She has tried to climb the walls and my quilts thumb-tacked to the wall in the bedroom. The ladybug will often make its way over to my quilts.
Occasionally the ladybug will crawl down the wall a bit. This gets Ivy very excited because she seems to sense it might crawl right down to her level.
Which would mean she would own it and it wouldn’t bode well for the ladybug.
But the ladybug seems to like it best around the window where my house plants are located.
Ladybugs Are Beneficial In The Garden:
Also known as lady beetles or ladybird beetles, ladybugs are considered beneficial insects in the garden. They are predators to many known garden insect pests.
Adult ladybugs can consume around 5000 aphids in their lifetime.
The Ladybug Is Also A Friend To House Plants:
They are also friends of indoor plants. Though I don’t plan to set a bag of them loose in my apartment.
To order them, I think the minimal amount is 1500. Imagine that many ladybugs in my 725 square foot apartment.
Other pests ladybugs eat include but are not limited to: Spider mites, mealybugs, whiteflies, and scale insects. Some say they also take care of fungus gnats.
But I’m not going to encourage my ladybug to go outside. Poor Ivy will just have to put up with it unless it dies or flies outside. Or she finally catches it.
Have you ever seen a ladybug inside your home?
What a great title for a children’s book: The Ladybug and Ivy Lou!
I’ve never seen one in my home. But I have to agree with you that it’s my favorite bug, and, I hadn’t thought about that until you mentioned it! I think it’s so cute that Ivy is mesmerized by this little red bug!
Years ago when my 2 young granddaughters were scheduled to spend a rare weekend with me I purchased a container of live ladybugs from my local nursery; I have no idea how many were in the pint sized container or what I paid for them but I do remember they were to be kept in the refrigerator prior to being released. The girls and I had a busy Saturday which included shopping for some new summer outfits, one of which featured Ladybugs. After pizza for dinner followed by ice cream at Dairy Queen and a promise of a big surprise the next morning after a quick bath they were both asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. When their feet hit the floor Sunday morning they wanted to know what the surprise was and were none too happy when told it would have to wait until they were dressed and had eaten breakfast. My suggestion of wearing their new Ladybug outfits met with their approval and as per my instructions they eagerly waited for me out on the back patio with eyes closed. Luckily when gently released onto nearby plants the Ladybugs did exactly what the instructions said they would do to the delight of two very excited little girls and one happy grandma. Although a number of them flew off to parts unknown most of them remained in my backyard throughout the morning and a few were still there when the girls parents came to pick them up. Although all grown up now both girls have told me that day was one of their fondest childhood memories as it was for me.
What a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing it!
I’ve heard that a ladybug in your home is a sign of good luck. I’m not one to believe such things but at least it’s a positive thought. When we moved onto our sailboat years ago to live full time we found a ladybug inside the cabin and she stayed with us for quite a long time before I couldn’t find her anymore. One of the very few bugs I’d allow to stay.
The Forest group (?) puts out lots of lady bugs in the fall to eat oak wilt. They are to save oak trees, but in the mean time we have thousands of them in our house. My grand daughter wants to put them back outside, but many of them die inside. Unlike other comments, these don’t smell bad.
Years ago, the town and I lived in Indiana for some reason ordered ladybugs! The town was overrun with ladybugs! When I would vacuum, the smell of ladybugs was horrific. They hid behind the drapes under the furniture…everywhere! After a season of living with ladybugs, My husband was offered a position in another town in another state and we moved. It was sad to say goodbye to our friends, but definitely not sad to leave the ladybugs!
I’ve seen two ladybugs in my apartment this summer. Ladybugs are supposed to bring good luck, abundance, and protection so it’s a good sign!
Poor Ivy.
I have lots of house plants so I’ve seen a lot of insects inside. And where we live, in the fall as it gets cooler we’ll find swarms of them on the west side of our house looking for warmth. They get in & I have to vacuum them up there are so many of them.
I love lady bugs. always have! they’re just cute. 😀 xo
We were recently invaded by these japanese bugs that look like lady bugs. They came in a swarm and ate all the leaves off my cherry tree. They would swarm us at the door and ride our hair and clothes inside. When I killed them, they left a stain. After a few days they left, as a swarm. They also bite and pinch me when I try to move them. And they look just like a ladybug. Just fyi.
Agree, these are the worst ever. These are are not the adorable pink ones found under the lilacs where I grew up. These are a tannish-orange and do indeed bite. They can invade your home.
Should you decide to hoover them up, they will leave your machine stinking so be sure to change the bag or empty the reservoir immediately. I had a problem with these for two fall/winter seasons at my previous home. They were more than a nuisance.
I live in WV and we have those Japanese ladybugs too. They are awful! They bite and apparently they are attracted to the color white. They swarm around and get into the house through the smallest holes! When you vacuum them they have a horrible odor. They definitely are not the cute ladybugs we knew as kids. Apparently they were brought into the country to kill some other bug but, I believe it back fired and now we are stuck with these awful bugs!