Lady bugs (lady beetles) and stink bugs fall into the category of “occasional invaders.” This means they aren’t really bothersome until they infest your home. 

Seeing a few lady bugs, lady beetles or stink bugs around your home isn’t a big deal until you have an infestation. 

Lady beetle or lady bug?

Lady Beetles

Around North Mississippi and Tennessee, you usually see Asian Lady Beetles. These Lady beetles are slightly different from what most of us refer to as “ladybugs”. 

Asian Lady Beetles often appear when the weather cools. They congregate on the side of a house by the hundreds or thousands. If Lady beetles can find an entry point into your home, they will make their way inside. 

Lady Bugs

The good:

Lady bugs are generally considered to be helpful insects. When ladybugs or lady beetles are found on a crape myrtle, they typically have laid hundreds of eggs right in middle of the aphids. 

As soon as the eggs hatch, they begin feasting on the aphids. Ladybugs can rescue a crape myrtle and even a crop from aphids when the timing is right! 

The bad:

In order to protect themselves from predators, ladybugs secrete a fluid from the joints in their legs. This secretion is unappealing to predators and smells really bad to humans. 

In an infestation of lady bugs, many homeowners experience staining on walls from the secreted fluid. Some people are even allergic to the dust from their crumbling shells.

Stink Bugs

While stink bugs have never been depicted as “cute” like lady bugs, they are also not much of a problem until an infestation occurs. 

Much like the lady beetles, stink bugs produce a foul odor and are best swept up and safely thrown away.

How do you define infestation?

A sudden increase in destructiveness or population numbers of a pest species in a given area.

When their numbers and impact are currently or potentially at intolerable levels.

Avoiding infestation:

First, check out what is happening outside your home.

• Repair cracks around windows and doors
• Repair torn window or door screens
• Remove piles of branches and leaves in your lawn
• Eliminate areas where water collects

Now see what’s happening inside your home:

• Check under sinks for leaking pipes and repair.
• If you discover a building infestation, vacuum up lady bugs, lady beetles and stink bugs and throw them away. 

If you are beyond that solution,  Lawn and Pest can help.

In addition to “occasional invaders” we are also here to protect your home from termites, roaches, ants and more. Our licensed pest technicians will thoroughly spray inside and outside of your home on a regular schedule to ensure this problem is taken care of now and later. 

Ask Paul

Our website has a user-friendly app to leave your messages with our office. Leave us a message and let us show you #thelpsdifference .

Are there any good bugs? If so, why do we need them? Even if you despise bugs of all sorts, usually even the “bad bugs” have at least one redeeming quality. 

They protect our gardens, crops, and lawns. 

Before you start stomping, do a little research. Don’t kill the one thing that might be saving your tomatoes! There are more than 1.5 million known insect species in the world and more than 97 percent are beneficial to gardens. 

If they aren’t helping your gardens and plants, most bugs are simply gently or kind. Don’t go stomping and spraying everything that crawls and flies.

Before you stomp and spray, ask yourself:

• Is the bug eating your plants, grass, garden?
• Does the eating appear to be doing damage to the plant?
• Is there one bug or is there an infestation ? 

If you answered “yes” to one or more of these, you may have a “bad bug”. 

Bad Bugs

In our region of the South, bugs that are considered to be bad include chinch bugs and white grubs. These insects attack our lawns and cause damage. An infestation of pests like army worms is another example of “bad bugs”.

There are good bugs and we do need them. 

When ladybugs or lady beetles are found on a crape myrtle, they have typically laid hundreds of eggs right in middle of the aphids. As soon as the eggs hatch, Lady bugs begin feasting on aphids. They can rescue a crape myrtleand even a crop from aphids if the timing is right! 

The larvae of Green Lacewing eat aphids and other insects that destroy our lawns. 

Brachonid Wasps lay eggs on the very destructive Tomato Horn Worm. When their eggs hatch, they eat the horn worm. 

Bad bugs get all of the attention. 

Let us help you get rid of the bad bugs and we will leave the good ones alone. Our licensed professionals know good bugs versus bad bugs and are glad to come to evaluate your situation. 

You can spot our trucks all over North Mississippi and in the Memphis, TN area. Ask Paul and  Learn more about “The Lawn and Pest Difference”.