The story goes that the USDA brought in the Asian Beetles to help Monsanto's GMO crops fight off aphids that attack their soybean varieties. Supposedly this occurred in the 1980's and the USDA and Monsanto have denied any involvement. Today, these beetles are wiping out the natural Lady Bug species and swarming every fall and winter into homes and human living spaces. They bite, smell and leave insect poop on walls.
This week the swarm happened on the homestead and they started crawling into every nook and cranny of our homes looking for a way inside. The only thing that eventually slows them down is the cold weather.
They wake up in the fall with the first coming hard freeze and when warmer weather comes after a few days later, they let the world know of their presence.
IMPACT ON HONEYBEES
Sure the Asian Beetle and Lady Bug are great for gardens and eating aphids, but the fall swarms are highly annoying and destructive. While the government or Monsanto will not specifically say they were involved in the releasing of this invasive and annoying pest that much of America now has to suffer from, their existence helps the sales of the insecticide, Permethrin.
Permethrin has been proven to be harmful to certain livestock and especially harmful and fatal to honeybees. As Asian beetles continue their march and expansion across the Americas, the honeybee will also continue to be threatened by the public's increased use of Permethrin to fight the beetles each fall. If the government or Monsanto are responsible for the introduction of the Asian Beetle, then their actions may have forever harmed the honeybee and the people who farm the honey they make.
Our Plan Of Attack - The GREAT SUCK
Our shop vac is great for sucking these guys in and disposing of them. We have decided, because this is now a yearly issue to get a handheld battery vacuum to use around the house. More on that another day.
Jaimie vacuums around the door where the beetle are gaining access in a tiny crevice. They can really crawl through some tight spaces. Once in, they head to the light of the windows...I guess because they want to go back outside. They should have just stayed outside to begin with.
Are you having issues this fall with Asian Beetles? I would urge you to adopt conventional weapons to fight your battle as the most recommended chemical warfare methods you will find have been proven to harm animals and honeybees. Stay away from the Permethrin. Once you read about it, you won't want it anywhere on your homestead or home.
ENJOY THE VIDEO!
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And that goes the say; everything with advantage comes with disadvantage also. But following this article, it seems that the rise of Beetle and Lady Bug here has more of negative impact now.
Every thing that traits humans health wise are always what pharmaceuticals love most because of the opportunity to get rich they creates for them from people's predicaments.
I guess that is how it will always work. Today, Monsanto keeps the healthcare companies in business.
Seeing tons of yt videos on these nasty bugs and no one likes them!
They came out in SW MO also this past week. You can’t even go in and out of your house without them getting in your house. All over the back porch. Absolutely every where.
I have not seen too many of them here in Central IL this year and that is unusual. However the farmers are still getting some of their crops out of the fields so there is still time to get a swarm! And as for taking care of them I stick with the vacuum method, I try not to squish them because of the stink they put off. Just another example of bringing in a foreign species to try to maintain another one. God has checks and balances but people think that they could do a better job than Him.....gesh!
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I didn't realize that the history of GMOs extended back into the eighties...
amazing...
Seems everyone is having this problem. Happened here in England 86 I think they were everywhere. Although that was proper ladybirds the nice red ones. Now you rarelu see them it the black ones I presume the Asian ones that kill off the red. We also have an increase in yellow ones
This is insane. I don't think we have many of those here in Canada, British Columbia because I don't see them or hear anything about them, but we had huge problems with Pine Beetle which killed about 50% of the total volume of commercial lodgepole pine in British Columbia in 1990, which was terrible.
Hah! We just posted a video about them too--the swarm overtook our house (it faces south, which is like an open invitation to them, apparently). I get bit by the Asian Lady beetles, which makes me want to call them anything other than "lady." Andrew wielded the Shop-Vac with a vengeance.
I DID hear that they were released intentionally, which makes me roll my eyes and put my head in my hands. How many purposely-introduced, invasive species is it going to take for these organizations to realized that their short-term gains will never outweigh the long-term consequences? And then I realize they're sitting pretty on their money, and so no one will ever learn. So glad to be homesteading and as far out of their reach as we can get at the moment.
I have not seen too many Lady Bugs; good or bad varieties. But we did get swarmed with Boxelders last week! They south side of the house which has the garage was covered! The wall was alive! Growing up everyone used Hedge Apples to deter them. I put about 25 apples around the south side of the house and the Boxelders were not stunned a bit. Like you the only thing I could do was get the Shop Vac and suck em all up.
Have a great week!
Kenny
@Pfeilerfam5
Lady bugs are so annoying! Especially when they are crawling on the ceiling and fall on you :(
Best option like the ancestors ... put some orange oil (or if you can stand it) peppermint or clove or cinnamon oil in the window runners or essential oil paint all the little holes that the buggers come in through ... this provides the bug aromatherapy keeping them outside.