All Ladybugs Are Not Nice

Lady Bug On A Plant — Newburgh, IN — Pass Pest Control

If you are a gardener, you likely look forward to seeing cute little black and red ladybugs in your garden during the growing season. They benefit your plants by eating aphids, fruit flies, mites, leafhoppers, and other garden insects. Unfortunately, they have a look-alike cousin in the Asian lady beetle that is not as nice. While they too are beneficial in your garden, they can become real nuisances in the fall and winter.

Learn more with this comparison between these two.

Appearance

To tell the difference between ladybugs and Asian lady beetle takes more than a simple glance at their colors. More than 150 species of ladybugs are in the U.S. alone, with more than 6,000 species worldwide.

You usually think of ladybugs being black and red, but they come in a wide array of colors. You can find pink, black, yellow, orange, and white ladybugs.

Asian lady beetles range in color from light orange to red. They, too, have black markings but often have white markings on their head. Ladybugs are typically smaller and rounder with a shorter head than the Asian lady beetles, although some species of ladybugs are slightly larger.

One of the main differences between the two is seen on the back of their heads. Asian lady beetles will have a distinctive W- or M-shaped black marking. The marking may vary in size, thickness, and even slightly in shape, but it's obviously there. Ladybugs do not have this marking.

Habitat

You can find both ladybugs and Asian lady beetles in your woods, gardens, fields, and pastures during the spring and summer. One of the most apparent differences between the two is where they choose to spend their winters.

Ladybugs hibernate during the winter. Ladybugs will look for warm, protected places outside where they can huddle together with large numbers of their peers for warmth.

You can find ladybugs underneath leaves and logs, as well as in cracks, crevices, and tree hollows. Some may even attempt to enter your home, but this is usually not their first choice.

Asian lady beetles are attracted to warm, sunny locations during the winter. Unfortunately, they often find these locations in your home or building. They may gather underneath your siding, in your attic, or the high corners of your dining room, bedroom, or kitchen ceilings. They will pick anywhere they can catch a few rays of warm sunshine.

Once lady beetles arrive, they will generally remain dormant in large numbers but may fly around, especially towards your lights. Unfortunately, if you disturb them where they gather, they will excrete an obnoxious odor similar to a stinkbug and leave a yellow stain on any surface they are on.

Asian lady beetles will also feed on their dead counterparts. Due to the large numbers they gather in, these decaying bodies and fecal matter can release allergens into the air, affecting some people.

Bites

Ladybugs have mouths designed for chewing. But their jaws, or mandibles, were created for munching on the soft body aphids they prefer. Ladybugs are not aggressive and generally will not bite you even if they land on you.

But that is not always the case. Ladybugs may nip you if they feel you are aggressive or when they mistake you for a treat. Fortunately, their nip is not hard enough to break the skin.

Asian lady beetles are slightly different. Their mandibles have pinchers, and some of these beetles can bite hard enough to break your skin. While they are not overly aggressive, they will sometimes bite when searching for food or fluids.

You don't have to spend your winter with ladybugs or Asian lady beetles. If you notice an infestation, Pass Pest Control can treat your home and clean up the beetles there. Give us a call today so we can get you beetle-free.

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Hand holding a magnifying glass over a bed, enlarging a bee illustration near a bedroom scene

BED BUGS: What They Are, How to Identify Them and How to Eliminate The

August 19, 2026

Bed bugs are small, parasitic blood feeding insects that can a comfortable home into a very unpleasant residence. Although they are not known to transmit diseases to people, their bites can cause itching and irritation, and an infestation can be difficult to correct without a complete application. However, in larger infestations the problem can cause open wounds due to scratching that can become infected. What are Bed Bugs? Bed bugs are small, dark brown insects that feed on blood. Adult bed bugs are about the size of apple seed where younger bed bugs are about the size of a grape seed and lighter in color. They are compact insects, allowing them to hide in cracks and crevices that are about the width of a dime. Despite their name, bed bugs aren’t limited to beds. They can hide in mattresses, box springs, bed frames, couches, chairs, carpets, cracks and other areas where individuals might rest. How to Identify Them? Bed Bugs can be difficult to spot because they are good at concealing themselves. Most common indications of an infestation are: Blood stains on bedding and mattresss Small dark spots indicating bed bug droppings Small eggs or cast skins Active bedbugs around tufts in the mattress, couches, chairs and cracks and crevices Red bites that occur in lines Where do they originate from? Bed bugs are excellent travelers. Bedbugs have a claw like hook similar to a tick which makes them the ultimate hitchhiker. They can enter a home through luggage, clothing, used furniture, bedding, and other personal belongings. They may also spread between rooms or apartments through cracks and other openings as well as person to person. How do you eliminate bed bugs? A few steps to take reduce your exposure to bed bugs: Inspect used furniture before you place it into the home. Use caution when traveling- inspect head boards, mattresses and all hotel furnishing before removing your items from your suitcase. Carefully check contents of luggage when returning home. Keep rooms organized which will make inspection easier in case of infestation. If you are suspicious of an item treat it for bedbugs before you place it into your home What Do I Do if I Find Bedbugs? Don’t discard of your furniture. Moving the items around can spread the infestation and make the problem worse. Start by carefully inspecting the area where bedbugs were observed. Wash and dry bedding on the highest setting available. Vacuuming is a valuable tool in helping to control infestations but can’t eliminate bedbugs on its own. Bed bugs can conceal themselves in cracks and crevices. Professional pest management may be necessary if the infestations is well established. What to Do? Bed bugs are an unpleasant, but they are a manageable pest problem. Early detection makes treatment easier. If you suspect and problem, inspect carefully, avoid spreading potentially infested belongings and consider contacting a qualified pest control professional for an appropriate treatment plan. If you are experiencing a reoccurring bed bug problem it is likely that you are coming into contact with an infected person or infested item. The key is to act in an organized manner rather than relying on a single treatment for moving to another room. With careful inspection and the correct treatment protocol bed bugs can be eliminated. There are many types of treatments for bedbugs and all of them work to a certain extent depending on the level of infestation and the condition of the home being treated. Heat is a very common way to control bedbugs but it only has about an 80 percent success rate. High clutter and easy avenues to avoid heat impact the ability of heat treatments to be successful. Temperatures have to be maintained at a level of 140 degrees or higher for at least three hours to see optimum results. Uncontrolled heat applications that maintain heat at 150 degrees for higher can result in serious damage to furniture, wiring and belongings. Chemical applications tend to perform very well in small to medium infestations but are challenged by aggressive, more populated bed bug infestations. Cryogenic applications do an excellent job of killing bedbugs on contact but do very little in controlling hidden infestations and leave no chemical residual for long term control. Fumigation is likely the most reliable method. Performed at the proper dosage rate a variety of insects and rodents can be eliminated with fumigation. However, fumigation tends to be more expensive that other applications and leaves no residual as chemical applications will.