Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Ladies in Red



Did you know that ladybugs are lucky? Here's what I've heard: If a ladybug crawls over a girl's ring finger, she is soon to marry. When a ladybug lands on you, it brings an angel's kiss. Every spot is a coin coming your way or, some say, a wish that is coming true. And if you wish on a ladybug and let it fly away, the wish will be granted from the direction in which she flies.

If all that is true, I should have enough luck to last a lifetime.

We've had stray ladybugs flitting through the house all winter. I rather enjoyed it. It reminded me of summer. But now that the weather is warmer, things are entirely out of hand.

They seem to have been hibernating somewhere in the den, and every day brings a fresh crop of 40 or so. They congregate in and above the windows; they seem to be attracted to light and to naturally seek the "up" direction.

Now, a single ladybug is cute. But swarms of them on your walls and curtains? Not so much.

They're great for gardens, though, so the Raid solution was out of the question. Instead, I've been scooping them off with a rolled-up-paper funnel tucked into the neck of an empty soda bottle. Works like a charm.

So there I am a couple of times a day, up on a step ladder with my homemade bug trap, doing my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice: "Come vis me if you vant to live."

When I've rescued all the critters I can find, I take the bottle outside and wedge it into a corner of the deck. There, the ladies can hike up to the rim and fly away home.

With a little luck, they'll stick around.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL....I have heard of that happening. I only see the occasional one here and there...You will have good luck for years now...Michelle

Anonymous said...

The south side of our house is completely infested with these. In our neck of the woods, they're Asian Beetles, a transplant some genius back in the day introduced to eat aphids. Now they're completely out of control. They bite, they stink, and we have them in the thousands, I'd guess, nesting under our siding and invading the house by the hundreds on any given sunny day. In fact, just now one boldly landed on my arm and got flicked off.

Grrr. But good luck? I'm going to focus on that. :)

Phill said...

I adore ladybugs. I never quote was able to figure out how they eat mosquitoes. I was told that once. But they're so tiny? I dunno. They're pretty cool all the same. Couple months and we'll have ours.

MyMaracas said...

Rambling, I hope you're right ... I'm keeping my fingers crossed. ;-)

Five, that sounds awful. Man, I hope these aren't THAT kind of ladybug. I haven't been bitten yet, and haven't noticed any smell. Wonder how you can tell the difference?

Small Pines, they eat mosquitoes??? To quote the Scarecrow of Oz, Oh joy! Oh Rapture!

Lori @ Purple Snapdragons said...

I love ladybugs! They remind me of my grandmother for a number of reasons, which I may just have to write about in my blog someday. Your pictures are gorgeous as always. They always make my day so thank you for sharing them!!

MyMaracas said...

What a nice thing to say, Lor! Thank you! I'm flattered, to say the least. I hope you do write about your grandmother and ladybugs. I'd love to hear the story.