RicodJour wrote:
On Jul 6, 2:26 pm, hibb wrote:
My air conditioning went out this weekend on the hottest day of the
year so far. When the Tech checked out the problem, he found that one
of those damned lady bugs (that are not really lady bugs) that infest
this area every fall got into one of the contacts and shorted it out.
I guess they don't conduct electricity very well.

Cost me $77 for the service call but still cheaper and quicker to get
it running than I figured it would be.

Tell me more about these not-quite-a-ladybug-bugs. A friend is
innundated with lady bugs. I'd never seen so many in one place. Are
these some sort of newly-introduced to the US bugs?

R

The US imports Asian *lady bugs* every year. Evidently they kill a lot
of other problem bugs. But the longer we do this the fewer natural
enemies we have to control the original problem. So if we stop
importing the little *******s, the original problem will be worse than
ever. For years my daughter told me ladybugs bite, and for years I said
she was imagining it. Poor kid, I eventually caught on and started
killing the little *******s. If you catch them at the right time in
spring and fall when they gather together, you can either poison them or
suck them up with a shop vac. And yes they stink if you just touch
them. When I use the shop vac to get them, I first put a few inches of
water in the vac, it helps to contain the odor. Just be sure to empty
it... far from the house.