Most types of ladybugs are a gardener’s delight. These bugs often act as pest control in the garden because of their voracious appetite for aphids, mites, and other small pests that can damage crops and flowering plants. There are also some Asian beetles that look like a gardener’s best friend but are more damaging.
While ladybugs are not harmful to people and you may want to encourage them to take up residence outside of your home in the garden, you don’t want them to come indoors to live. They can leave a real mess behind from their droppings and their built-in protection system that squirts out their stinky blood to repel danger, like predators.
Natural remedies for ladybugs are one way to keep them safe in the garden where they belong and not in your home.
1. Home Maintenance
The first natural remedy for dealing with ladybugs that get into your home is to do what you can to keep them out. Home maintenance is one of the first things that you need to do when it comes to pests, and you may not even realize it. Go through your home, and look for places where bugs could be getting in your home.
Check your screens for rips, tears, or places where the screen material has separated from the frame. Check your foundation, walls, and roof for cracks, holes and other problems where they could be squeezing into your home. The weather stripping around your doors and windows should also be checked and replaced if necessary. The great thing about these home maintenance efforts is that it won’t just keep ladybugs out, but other pests, as well.
2. Do a Little Planting
Mums are a great way to keep ladybugs out of your home. Chrysanthemums are great in the garden and can be a natural remedies for keeping ladybugs out of your home. You can plant these around your windows and doors as their chemical makeup is a deterrent to these bugs. If you live in an area where you’re not able to change up what’s planted around your home or there is no place to plant, there are some options for you.
You can buy or create window boxes and fill them up with mums to help with these pests. Another option, in this case, would be to plant in other containers that can be placed strategically around different areas in your home to keep these pests out, like on the front porch or by your back door.
3. Essential Oils
Essential oils are great for a lot of purposes, but they’re also good in a pinch for dealing with ladybugs inside of your home. Ladybugs don’t like certain smells and using clove, citronella, lavender, cedarwood, eucalyptus, or lemon oils can be a great way for giving them the cue to stay outside where they can be helpful. You can put essential oil warmers or other aromatherapy items around your home to make it smell great, and keep these little pests away.
4. Other Smells
Considering that ladybugs use scent to warn each other of danger, it makes sense that smells can tell them to stay away. Some other smells that you may want to consider using are bay leaves, camphor, menthol, and ammonia as these all help to repel these bugs. As ammonia and some of these other smells are not as pleasant as other scents, you may want to use a variety of smells that you like to find what will work best.
5. Light Traps
Like many bugs, ladybugs are attracted to light, and there are light traps that you can use to collect the ladybugs infiltrating your home and put them back outdoors. You can either make your own light trap to handle these insects, or you can find one available commercially to help you deal with your ladybug presence in a harmless manner.
6. Paint Colors
Yes, paint colors can be a natural remedy for dealing with ladybugs inside. Ladybugs seem to be attracted to lighter colored buildings and walls, so a little interior design may be the way to go to induce them to stay out. Painting your exterior a darker color along with your interior walls may be one way to help deal with these pests. This option may be a little more expensive, and a little more difficult to implement than the other remedies, but it’s worth knowing in case you’re already thinking of changing up your home.
Conclusion
Ladybugs are beautiful additions to the natural world, and while you may want kitchen curtains featuring their cheerful red and black visage, you don’t really want them in your home where they can make a mess. These are some of the best natural ways for you to keep happy ladybugs out in the yard where they can do the most good in eating pests while keeping your home pest free.
Have you tried any of these remedies before? What’s your favorite way for dealing with these pests? Comment below to share your knowledge with others seeking the best way to handle these friendly insects in a non-lethal manner.