Have You Noticed the Bugs Everywhere Today? NOT Ladybugs

It seems there are a million freshly hatched bugs all over East Texas today. Have you seen them?

Those are not ladybugs.

We've seen people post today about the ladybug 'look-alikes' flying about our homes near Tyler, Texas. There was even a post this morning on a popular Tyler, Texas-area social media group page where area residents were asking about what they were seeing.

This happens about this time every year in East Texas.

Contrary to how they may appear, those are not ladybugs in East Texas--they are Asian Lady Beetles.

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OK, big deal, right? They're still pretty much the same, right?

Well, there are similarities between the ladybug and the Asian Lady Beetle. But they are not the same.

Asian Lady Beetles in East Texas

I first noticed them quite a few years ago. They must like big windows because about 18 million seemed to invade my sunroom overnight. They were EVERYWHERE.

Despite their 'cute' appearance, if one considers any bug 'cute,' there are some key differences between ladybugs and Asian Lady Beetles. Sure, they both have those round bodies with little 'polka-dots' all over, and they are close to the same size. But, here's what you need to know.

OK, OK we need to do a little back-tracking here. Technically, Asian Lady Beetles ARE a TYPE of ladybug--just not the ones you probably think of when you think of ladybugs, of which there are about 5,000 different types.

But if you look at a typical ladybug next to an Asian Lady Beetle, you'll notice the ladybug is red with those signature black spots. The Asian beetles range in color, but the ones I've seen are more orange. Some have spots, but not all.

The Asian Lady Beetles are not native to North America. So, how did they end up in Texas?

The Asian Lady Beetles were released into the North American ecosystem so that they may prey upon some of the more unwanted garden pests. And...let's just say they've been THRIVING ever since.

According to some reports from reasonably reputable sources such as WebMD, you may want to be careful. Sure they seem to just crawl and flit about like regular ladybugs, but Asian Lady Beetles DO have little pinchers and they have been known to bite if they feel threatened.

However, the bites aren't considered serious to humans.

Are Asian Lady Beetles dangerous to our pets in Texas?

We've even heard from some East Texans who've said to watch your pets around them. In some severe cases, they'd noticed many of them had gotten into their pet's mouth and were nesting around their gum area. OMG. *runs away screaming in horror.*

If you are interested in not having to contend with them, prevention is the best way to handle it, if possible. The best way to prevent having them in your home is to be mindful when opening doors or windows and make sure all those potential cracks in walls and pipes are sealed up.