I was working on my new garden shed, putting some hardware on (latches and bolts and such). It was a bright sunny day – mild, about 65-70 degrees.

I was drilling some holes in the doors that I made for some latches and I started to notice a couple of tiny red bugs landing on and around my drill. They were also crawling around my neck and shirt sleeves. They were lady bugs! More and more came and landed on me and all over the garden shed. Suddenly I noticed what seemed to me, like 50 or more ladybugs all around me and on the garden shed.


Right away I was excited! As a practicing gardener, I knew that ladybugs are a very beneficial insect and I wanted to keep them around. But I was baffled…how did I get so lucky? I had tried at other times in my gardening experience to attract ladybugs, with only mild success. Now, here they were, appearing in droves and I had no idea why! But for me, the most important question was: How can I keep them around?

The answer: I had no idea! At first I thought, maybe it is the colors of paint I used on my new garden shed…white and bright red. That had to be it. I spent a few days being very happy with myself and with my choice of colors. After patting myself on the back for a while, I figured that I really should find confirm if it was indeed the colors that attracted ladybugs. After all, I desperately wanted to keep them around my yard and garden.

Once started my research, I found out more than I ever wanted to know about ladybugs. First of all, there are more varieties and types of ladybugs than any one person needs to know. I did find out that the ones that were on me were Asian Lady Beetles, so I decided to concentrate on that variety. Here’s what I found out:

• Asian Lady Beetles don’t transmit any diseases, but recent studies do suggest that infestations of these kinds of ladybugs can cause allergies in some people, with symptoms ranging from eye irritations to asthma.
• Besides being a nuisance to non-gardeners, the beetle can sometimes emit a acrid odor and can stain some surfaces with yellowish secretions. Ladybugs of the Asian Beetle variety have also become concern of the wine industry. It seems their noxious odor, inadvertently processed with grapes, can contaminate the flavor of the wine.
• In the fall, ladybugs can be found under rocks and leaves, in milder climates at the bottom of trees. In summer they are flying around and crawling all over everything. Other ladybug species are found in a range of colors, from red to orange to yellow to black, with different color spots.
• They live communally and are most often found on the underside of the leaf. A ladybug can usually lay 10 to 50 eggs, which hatch in 3 to 5 days. In larvae form they eat other insects – this is where ladybugs start being very beneficial to the gardener. They are in this stage for two to three weeks, and then they pupate. An adult comes out in 7 to 10 days. Birds avoid eating ladybugs because they taste so bad, so once you figure out how to attract them, you don’t have to worry about them being gobbled up by other animals.
• Farmers mostly love ladybugs because they are good for most crops. They are a natural insecticide, eating mealy bugs, spiders, and other small insects, Plant lice or Aphids are a gourmet meal for ladybugs.

A couple of other interesting facts I found in my research:

• The ladybug is the official insect of Ohio
• The common name for ladybug is “Convergent lady beetle”
• The scientific name is “Hippodamia Convergens Guerin” – Wow! That’s a mouthful!
• They are also called “Cossinelli” – I hope that I spelled that right!

Anyway…I started all this research about ladybugs because I was convinced that I had had a revelation or something when I painted my new garden shed red and white.

Turns out, that the thing that attracts ladybugs most is the southwestern side of a building or surface, painted in light colors, and illuminated by the bright sun.

Take a wild guess on which exposure my shed is facing? Positioning of the shed was purely accidental. It was simply the largest open area I had in my yard. Still, I LOVE my new garden shed and its bright colors. I built it from the ground up with a little help from my wife and two sons. SO MUCH FOR REVELATIONS!

You can attract ladybugs or even purchase them. Every gardener will enjoy the beneficial ladybug! Click Here to Learn More about Beneficial Ladybugs!