Minnesota Homeowners’ Guide to Easy and Natural Lady Beetle Removal

It feels like it's always lady beetle season in Minnesota!

If your house is like mine right now, it's crawling with them (pun intended). They're harmless, but boy are they ever annoying and quite invasive once they break into your home.

Since I did a deep dive in figuring out how to get rid of them naturally, I thought I'd share what I learned.

First of all, they are supposed to be really good for your garden, according to HGTV, because they eat other pests. So, if your goal is to keep them around, but just out of your house, try this first - Put a sock over the vacuum hose, so you can vacuum them up and relocate them outdoors.

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For the hard to reach ones, use pieces of tape to catch them. Place rolled-up strips of duct tape near them. They'll get stuck to the tape when they walk on it. Once on the tape, you can take them outside and release them.

For the rest of the stragglers, set up an all-natural trap - a bowl of water and dish soap. WikiHow recommends putting the bowl in a lighted area since they are drawn to the light.

Then for future prevention, you can actually create your own spray. Put water and white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray areas you see the little buggers, generously. The spray is supposed to kill the ladybug pheromone smell that attracts them to one another.

Also See: Warning, a Tick Explosion Expected in Minnesota This Year

There are also a few tips to prevent them from coming into your home in the first place. Apparently, lady beetles are not a fan of citrus smells, so they will avoid your home if it smells like lemon, oranges, or limes. Put citrus scented candles near the entrances of your house.

A fun tip I found from a pest control company, is to plant mums. For whatever reason, ladybugs and lady beetles are repelled by these flowers, so if you plant them in and right around your home, the beetles will naturally stay away from them.

Another pro tip from Orkin: "Seal gaps and cracks where lady beetles may enter the structure. Pay close attention to areas such as siding, doors, windows, chimneys, ridge, soffit, and gable vents and openings around pipes, conduit, and utility wires."

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