Asian Lady Beetles and Wheezing. (The devil’s minions.)

Asian Lady Beetles and Wheezing…

In many areas of rural America, Asian Lady Beetles (not American ladybugs by the way) were released over the past few decades to control the growth of Pine Beetles, which decimate pine forests and subsequently the timber industry.

Because they are attracted to pine, and thus to pine logs, and thus to pine log houses like ours, we are yearly afflicted with these denizens of hell.  They swarm our house and crawl inside; the cover the walls and climb into our beds (where they sometimes bite), land in our food and rest in our ventilation systems. And almost nothing we do helps, save my wife’s heroic efforts with the vacuum cleaner. We have discovered some incredibly potent chemicals that we put around the door-frames and windows in a Passover like effort to avoid the plague.

We’ll probably get liver cancer…

When I ask the exterminator?  He shrugs his shoulders.

Below is a little summary:

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Sadly, Jan and I (and the children) have varying degrees of allergic response to them.  All winter, when they vacation in our house, I wheeze and feel short of breath.  My wife, daughter and sons also wheeze, sneeze and itch.

We are not alone.  A large segment of the population is also allergic to these little monsters.

So, if you find yourself wheezing and sneezing and have them in your home, talk to your physician. There are some things that may help. Inhaled steroids seem to help me.

PHYSICIANS! Keep this in mind when you see patients without known lung disease who have respiratory or rhinitis like symptoms that are not otherwise easily explained.

‘Do you have ladybugs’ is a reasonable question.

If infested one may be tempted to use a flamethrower.  However this is generally a bad idea and I do not recommend it.

Have a bug free day…

Edwin