Japanese beetles - Help!

Zayl

Ok so, have a bit of a problem here.I'm sure some of you are aware of how Japanese Beetles can be somewhat of a nuisance when they find their way into your home by the hundreds. Right now as I am typing I am looking at the wall and the ceiling and they are simply swarming over them.

So my question is this. How do I go about removing so many of these insects without harming them? I have tried capturing as many as possible in a glass then releasing them outside, but every time I open a door or window to do so, more come in than I release. I realize they are just seeking shelter from the coming winter, and I normally would not mind. However they have a habit of finding their way into my food, bed, clothing, ice cube trays, practically everywhere you can imagine. Not only that, but I found out they bite rather hard after putting on some underwear where a few had sought refuge.

So yeah, help please?

SherabDorje

You gotta do what you gotta do.

username_5

They bite, really? Never had that experience. Could you try vacuuming them up? Try it with a few and see if they survive the process. If so, then suck em up and put them outside. It's interesting because I have never had a Japanese Beetle try and get inside. Are we talking about the same critter? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle

nanadhaja

Got no idea what a japanese beetle is but the underwear situation sounds ouch.
Since they are Japanese have you thought of opening up a kari oke bar outside?
Sorry about that.I do wish you luck in your endevours to persuade them to relocate.

Zayl

Ah no, they are the ones that look like lady bugs, I do not know their exact name.

pineblossom

Zayl wrote: »

Ok so, have a bit of a problem here.I'm sure some of you are aware of how Japanese Beetles can be somewhat of a nuisance when they find their way into your home by the hundreds. Right now as I am typing I am looking at the wall and the ceiling and they are simply swarming over them.

So my question is this. How do I go about removing so many of these insects without harming them? I have tried capturing as many as possible in a glass then releasing them outside, but every time I open a door or window to do so, more come in than I release. I realize they are just seeking shelter from the coming winter, and I normally would not mind. However they have a habit of finding their way into my food, bed, clothing, ice cube trays, practically everywhere you can imagine. Not only that, but I found out they bite rather hard after putting on some underwear where a few had sought refuge.

So yeah, help please?

Unless you under strict vows - the same thing as we do with termites in Australia - kill them.

Sorry - but there it is. Make the necessary purification rituals and wish them all a better rebirth.

username_5

Zayl wrote: »

Ah no, they are the ones that look like lady bugs, I do not know their exact name.

Those I know. I have heard they can bite although I haven't experienced it yet. They come inside my home every year too. In my case they mostly hang out around windows and in particular the bathroom where the humidity is higher than elsewhere in the house.

I just leave them be as they are harmless, but I have never had them in my underwear Most likely you can vacuum them up and them put them outside with little/no loss of life. I am referring to the hose attachment on a vacuum, not the beater bar part.

nanadhaja

Hi Zayl.Just googled the topic.The item I read was about them in the garden but guess it can be used indoors.Seems the little critters don't like catnip,chives or garlc.
The article is at http://www.ehow.com
Good luck

Mountains

My old house has been inundated with Asian ladybugs for several years now (they're epidemic in the SE USA). I'm talking probably hundreds of thousands of them. So much that I've had to sweep them off the window with my hand to let light in. I've given up being Buddhist with them. I just use the shop-vac on them. The thing is, about 90% of the ones that come into the house to hibernate end up dying anyway, and I'm not getting anything like 90% of the ones that are there, so I figure I'm not doing a lot of harm. That may be justification for killing and making bad karma, but when one lands on the fork full of food you're about to put in your mouth, and you crunch it before you realize it, you lose your fear of karmic consequences! 'Cause MAN do they taste bad!

We're currently nearly overrun with stinkbugs. Not in quite the numbers of the ladybugs, but they're much larger and noisier. I'm trying to just shoo them out the door rather than killing them, mainly because they (not surprisingly) stink to high heaven when you disturb them.

Mtns

Zayl

Thank you for the replies.

I tried vacuuming them up, I have one of those bagless vacuums so I just emptied the dust out of it, and they seemed to survive it just fine.

ashighasifeel

Are you referring to the shield bugs or "stink bugs"? They came to the states from southeast asia in the late 1990s. I work in hospitality and they are coming in the heaps because of the weather change (this is the worst they get). I use the vacuum at work and say om-mani's. But I also found if you take a tall cup and put it up to the bugs, you can usually scoop them up and shock them until you can take them outside. They almost seem to fall in. We've tried a homemade catnip/herb brew and spraying around the rooms but to no avail...

Mountains

I don't know what the proper name for them is. Their shell is in the shape of a shield, but they're known as stink bugs around here. And they do stink. Sort of a sour/sweet smell.

I don't mind picking them up and putting them outside, or just shooing them out the door or an open window. I wish they'd stay outside though. Or better yet, in Southeast Asia! Ditto the Asian ladybugs. They're out-competing native North American ladybugs, which are slowly going extinct.

Zayl

Ah stinkbugs, we get a few of those around here. luckily they are big and slow enough for me to carefully trap in a glass then release outdoors. They may stink up the place while being moved, but luckily their smell dissipates fairly quickly.

Thao

Yes, they bite, but I have never been bitten by one. One sent a friend to the hospital when the bite made her arm swell. I leave them alone, but I have not had as many as this person. You could vacuum them up, and then take the bag far away from your house and let them go. If you don't take them far away, they will return. I do the same with mice, only I take mice two miles away or they will return as well.