Good idea!

"fran" wrote in message
...
| If your porch is set up so you can do this, blast 'em with water from
| a hose set on jet. You may have to do it repeatedly, but they'll
| eventually decide your porch ain't the best place to be.
|
| On Fri, 8 Oct 2004 15:49:55 -0500, "LAH"
| wrote:
|
|
| "paghat" wrote in message
| news | In article .net,
"LAH"
| wrote:
|
| I hate the *%#$@ things! I know I'll be accused of being a troll but
| you
| really have to be here to understand my hatred. My open front porch
is
| on
| the south side of the house. At this time of year it is virtually
| unusable
| thanks to those red and black spotted menaces! Opening the front
door
| is
| like to walking into a swarm! Actually the front door simply can't
be
| used
| at this time of year. I wish the jerk who imported these things had
to
| live
| with them like I do. Kill a ladybug, save an aphid!
|
| They usually prefer western sun exposures for hibernation purposes. It
is
| possible to discourage them from using your porch without harming them
| much:
|
| Rig up a vaccuum cleaner (one with a hose, not beaters) with a fresh
bag
| in it, or a nylon stocking or loose cheesecloth in front of the bag or
a
| nylon stocking stuffed down the front of the hose. Vaccuum the
ladybirds
| into the sack or stocking, to be emptied on the property edge or nearby
| woods, underneath or in the folds of a black tarp that can be
permanently
| located (perhaps near a compost heap or along the west edge of a tool
shed
| or garage), or deposit the sleepy ladies in the hollow of a rotting
tree.
| They want a relatively dry slightly warmed place to hibernate, &
rotting
| wood or west-sunned dark surfaces stay warmer than the atmospheric
| temperature, so can be better attractants than porches or the insides
of
| walls. When they emerge next spring from out of a black tarp or tree
| hollow, they will take note of where they are at, & if struck them as a
| good place to have wintered, they may return to the same spot the next
| winter.
|
| Ladybirds have "scouts" which find ideal hibernation spots & somehow
the
| news spreads among them & they remember the spot for generations; they
| arrive in autumn from a considerable distance, then emerge in spring to
| scatter far from your gardens, so the person with the most ladybirds
| hibernating often end up with the fewest when they're needed in spring.
| When they fixate on a specific spot they'll return to it year after
year
| in increasing numbers, but if the mass-hibernation spot is frequently
| disturbed, such as by vaccuuming them up & moving them, their "scouts"
| look for safer refuge, & whether or not they continue to return to the
| tarp-spot provided for them, they eventually stop using a porch because
| they'll have learned it gets disrupted.
|
| -paghat the ratgirl
|
| --
| "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
| "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
| -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
| Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com
|
| I appreciate the information but I don't think you understand the
magnitude
| of the problem. This is a two story house and the south side is just
| covered with ladybugs. Getting a vacuum up there would be pretty tricky.
| If I do try this you can be sure I'm not going to let them go - gas and a
| match it is! Sorry I realize this probably offends some but enough is
| enough.
|
|