Landing in hair and on sweatshirts, congregating at windowsills and near light fixtures, the multicolored Asian lady beetles are back once again. A decade ago they began causing annoyances in Ohio, and they are not going away anytime soon.
Sophomore Ryan Combs said he has had a fear of bugs since he was in fourth grade when he was attacked while mowing the lawn. Combs' residence hall, Scott Quad, has one of the highest beetle infestation rates on campus, said Sam Hanson, from the department of Environmental and Health Safety (EHS).
I've seen a few in my room
and they're really scary Combs said of the beetles. Sometimes they fly at you and you can't do anything about them. They're just so unpredictable.
At these times, Combs said he usually screams, curls up in the fetal position on his couch and calls upon his roommate to get rid of them. He kills them with pillows from our couch
he said. I'm scared to be at this campus until they're eradicated.
Although some residents opt to take matters into their own hands when dealing with the beetles, others choose to contact EHS.
The beetles began causing problems this season during the second week of October; since then EHS has received about 20 calls a day.
After the first freeze of the fall, the beetles try to find a place to hibernate, Hanson said, noting that this year's initial frost occurred on Oct. 3.
They have infested virtually every building on campus -
Hanson said.
The bugs are most noticeable in South Green's Ewing Hall and Scott Quad. They also line the windowsills of the dance studios in the Research and Technology building and Gordy Hall's stairwells.
When Hanson receives a call about a beetle problem, he goes to the room and uses a general-purpose insecticide to clear the area of the bugs. If the room has a window other than one with an air conditioner, he opens it and sprays the outside perimeter. This stops the beetles from entering. He also sprays the ceiling perimeter.
If we can't open any windows
we kill the already-present ones
he said.
The beetles are attracted to light sources, so Hanson also puts insecticide on lights and along windowsills. That way, when the beetles walk across them, their feet pick up the poison and they ingest it when they groom themselves.
You'll find dead ones on the windowsills
Hanson said, but that's the price we pay for living at OU with these multicolored lady beetles. And the only warning we give is do not lick your windowsills.
Perkins Hall first-year resident Pearse O'Grady currently has approximately 30 beetles in his room and has decided against contacting EHS.
We'll wage the battle
he said. One night there was nothing
then the next morning there were 30. We vacuumed the hell out of them.
Although the bugs can clog vacuums, O'Grady hasn't noticed any problems with his in the past week when he has used it on the beetles.
We've vacuumed about 120 of them
he said.
The beetle conflict will not end with the passing of fall, though. Residents who choose to combat them on their own will most likely wake up to the bugs flying into their windows in the mornings or landing on light fixtures at night during winter and spring quarters too.
Once they're inside a structure
