Perspective – Bugs in the House

On By TimelessladyIn Perspective

I made two mistakes when I picked up a cat food crumb off the carpet. First, the crumb was not a crumb at all! As I neared the kitchen trash can the piece of kibble began to move. I looked at what I held in my palm and instinctively threw it on the floor, a stink bug. I picked the bug up with a tissue, wrapped it like a mummy, and deposited it in the trashcan.

What was my second mistake?

Stink bugs are detestable but also awesome at the same time; the indestructible insect somehow unwrapped itself and climbed out of the trash can. I didn’t make the same mistake. I threw the stinker away again and sealed the trash bag. Victory!

I don’t like stink bugs, but I love ladybird beetles. They also find their way into the house in the winter, but are welcome guests. I found one on my tomato sprouts and was so enamored I took a dozen photographs of her as she traversed the top of the party cups. Sweet!

33 thoughts on “Perspective – Bugs in the House”

    1. Timelesslady

      Oh my…I didn’t know there were any bad ladybirds. I let them wander in my house when they sneak in. I always hope they will help keep my houseplants bug-free.

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  4. What a funny mistake, but it must have given you a start! These bugs are resilient. The ladybugs are so cute, aren’t they? One of the few bugs I enjoy seeing in the garden, as long as they don’t eat the budding vegetable flowers. Great contribution to the Friendly Friday – Mistakes challenge.

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  5. Are you sure it’s a ladybug? There is a bug called the Asian Lady Beetle and they look very similar (it’s an imposter). Take a look at this link to see the difference https://www.plunketts.net/blog/ladybugs-vs-asian-lady-beetles/
    We have a lot of the Asian lady beetles in the house right now as spring is here. They are a pest and we try and get rid of as many as we can. Luckily our dog leaves them alone as I have seen pictures of dogs with their palates covered in these things.
    You may want to do the same thing as you do with the stink bugs if you discover they are the imposter.

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      1. No, not destructive, but a nuisance. They can bite, emit an awful odour, can infest your pet’s mouths. They are found in groups and love to invade your home. They are actually an invasive species. The first time we had them in our home, I thought they were lady bugs than I found out differently. Now we have them in our house every spring and fall. We try and suck up as many as possible with the vacuum. We use an old vacuum because of the odour they emit when harrassed. I hope it is just a lady bug you had but to be honest I thought it looked like an Asian Lady Beetle in the picture, hence the reason for my sending the link.

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        1. Timelesslady

          Happily, if it is an Asian Lady Beetle, we only have one or two at a time at most. Outdoors, we’ve had quite a parade at times, with lady beetles, or asian beetles, marching up our downspout. I wonder if they are roosting in the attic. 🤔

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  8. Ugh! I hate those things! Just when I think I’ve got them out of my house there will be another one walking across the ceiling! Sometimes I wonder if it’s not the same one just taunting me…

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  10. A few years ago, after doing some research, I quit “dispatching” the centipedes I would see climbing on my walls. I also advised my son to leave them alone. Some of them were huge. Anyway, due to the article I discovered (link below) during my research, I let them go on their way whenever they appear on my walls. Centipedes will eat ants and a number of other pesky insects which manage to get into your home. We had previously had a problem with those bigger black ants – they bite you, unprovoked.

    I’m certain the ants had a colony in the walls of this building – 4 units of apartments built in the early 1940’s. A couple summers ago, standing in our small parking lot and killing time, I watched a caravan of ants which were traveling to/from our small garbage dumpster at the edge of the lot to our building. They climbed up the brick exterior and traveled in their little lines to the upper floor- we are a 2 storied building. For the past couple years, I haven’t seen any more ants in our home… I am hoping the centipedes took care of them.

    https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/02/08/everyday-nature-how-i-came-to-love-house-centipedes/

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    1. Timelesslady

      Hi Janie, We also have centipedes. I only see them if I awake in the night or if one waits to long to go back to its daytime home in the early morning. They are hard not to kill. The thought of one walking over me while I sleep is not pleasant. They usually are on the downstairs floor though. We think they come in through the fireplace chimney. Thanks for the link.

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      1. I view them as my sentries since they will kill those nasty biting ants. On occasion, I see the small juveniles scurrying on my bedroom wall and am encouraged there is a new generation of ant killers. About 4 or so years ago, I woke up because I felt something crawling on my face, it was an ant and it had a few of its buds with it. But I didn’t get bit that time. We had a brief bout with an infestation. Our landlord had a pest control company spray a few areas in our apt and they eventually disappeared.

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        1. Timelesslady

          We’ve had small ants come into the kitchen if we have a really rainy spell…usually though we are free from them. The occasional black ant comes in one of the back windows, but we are pretty much without ants…now spiders…they are a constant battle. I know some people don’t kill them in the house, but I do.

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          1. Spiders are fair game to me, I kill them – don’t see them often. I had small sugar ants once in a small area of my kitchen last summer. Made a solution of borax and water, I think, put it in an up-side down small lid (like a mini-drinking trough)…killed them and they never returned.

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Thanks so much for your comments. They fill my life with sunshine.