Asian Beetles - Montana Owners Club

sfish · 10-07-2010, 12:41 PM

I was out of town last week and came back to our lake home where we keep the Monty. I opened the Monty to check on it and there were several asian beetles on the ceiling and windows. The weather has been warmer than usual for this time of year..How do they get in and how do you keep them out? Any help would be appreciated.
I used the central vac to suck them up and there were many more an hour later.

Thanks Steve

restez · 10-07-2010, 12:57 PM

I guess if it were mine I would do an insect bomb to get rid of all of them and hopefully the larvae.

Longwell · 10-07-2010, 01:20 PM

Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be able to keep them all out.
When I worked for Terminix they were a major issue for many customers. I had to tell them that my spraying (with a solution for professionals, that left a residue) around the doors and windows and other openings would kill any that tried to get in that way but the beetles are persistent "buggers" and are nested just about everwhere including under shingles, in the siding, in tree bark, etc, etc.
They will probably keep coming back. Professional treatment will keep them to a "manageable" number but anything used that would kill all of them would make your abode uninhabitable by you also.
Sorry for the bad news.
Larry

camper4 · 10-07-2010, 01:37 PM

Have you tried Ortho's Home Defense? I works on many insects and is safe when it dries. I'm not sure how it would work on the beetles but it would be worth looking into.

Art-n-Marge · 10-07-2010, 02:23 PM

See the link below to an article on these biting buggers. I remember backpacking to the local mountains where we found infestations of these very close to the backwoods campgrounds. There would be million of them they would cover downed trees, the ground and the leaves so that it looked like a moving carpet.

This area was a great first-timer backpacker's location and we'd go there a couple of times a year - just enough altitude and distance to get a feel that you were going to like backpacking or not. The bugs pretty much left us alone until 2-3 Boy Scouts thought it would be fun to rustle them up by racing through them and making them jump up and fly around. That's when they found out they were Asian beetles, not the more casual Lady Bugs. After being bitten and running back to our campground so we could get bit too and we all had to race to safety. We were able to return to camp after an hour or so and we left them in peace and they didn't bother us. No one EVER bothered them again in all the years we went back - the story was enough preventative and the experienced backpackers passed on the word NOT to bother them.

If we are talking about the same thing, here's a link on them and how to get rid of them and what to use.

http://www.epestsupply.com/asian_beetles.html

This is not an endorsement, because I think you can find what they describe for controlling them in other stores. It sure sounds like they are gonna be tough.

**Rondo** · 10-07-2010, 02:34 PM

Steve-- I'm currently in Ohio but heading home to Nebraska in less than a week. We have the problem of those pesky beetles there also. We haave heard, but not tried until we get home, to purchase Palmolive dish soap and put it in a garden sprayer and spray it arouond the foundation of the house. We also get them in the The Monte but not as bad as the house. I plan on spraying all around the Monte also with the solution and I'll let MOC know if it works or not! I do put drier sheets and a product I buy at Tractor Supply in the Monte ove winter for bugs and mice. I also spread mothballs or mothball crystals around the tires and landing legs of the Monte to deter any mice from wanting to make the Monte a home for the winter. It has worked so far also! Keep us informed if you come up with any other cures for those pesky beetles too! Oh, they come in through any crack or hole anywhere around the foundation of the house or on the Monte and the Good Lord knows there are tons of areas in the Monte!

Exnavydiver · 10-07-2010, 03:48 PM

When we got invaded by them winter before last Rondo sent me a bag of osage oranges (big green lumpy balls that come from the Osage tree) They helped a bit but if yu go out to the rig on a sunny day and look near the slide gaskets where the bottom and the side gaskets meet you will see them going right in the small gap sown there. I sprayed Ortho ant and roach spray because it leaves behind a residual layer. They can also get in between the screen and window. I have watched them push right through that little carpeted seal strip. If you have the windows open they walk right in. I had to spray that seal junction area on the slides every other day for about a week. By then they had all frozen to death or jsut gone dormant from the cold...

sfish · 10-08-2010, 02:33 AM

Thanks for all the advise I will get to work on it today!

Steve

ole dude · 10-08-2010, 03:48 AM

Thats interesting, down here people want them for the garden and will pay for them. Last year we had a huge population of the Lady Bugs, this year not so many. Be sure and check the burner tube of your hot water heater and the ref in your trailer, they like to reside in there.

**Rondo** · 10-08-2010, 10:59 AM

They look like a Lady Bug but the aren't! The stupid things were brought into the country to take care of problems in soybean fields, I think it was, and they have taken over and you can believe one thing-- those little suckers bite and when they bite you know it! Like Dave stated, the osage oranges or hedge apples help but will not totally take care of them and as he stated they can get into the smallest of holes or cracks also. When we get home to Nebraska, I'll let you know how the Palmolive soap deal works too. Stay tunes for more facts on the little buggers!!

7.3Ford · 10-08-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Rondo

They look like a Lady Bug but the aren't! The stupid things were brought into the country to take care of problems in soybean fields, I think it was, and they have taken over and you can believe one thing-- those little suckers bite and when they bite you know it! Like Dave stated, the osage oranges or hedge apples help but will not totally take care of them and as he stated they can get into the smallest of holes or cracks also. When we get home to Nebraska, I'll let you know how the Palmolive soap deal works too. Stay tunes for more facts on the little buggers!!

We ran into what we thought was Lady Bugs last year in Indiana, maybe they weren't Lady Bugs after all. The put off a awful smell when you attacked them (ie vacuumed them up). They came in right under the slide seals. We were still finding them a month afterwards.

sfish · 10-08-2010, 11:42 AM

I went to the local hardware store today and asked if they had anything to get rid of these critters and the sold me a bottle of Mad Max and said ut really works. I sprayed it by some of the door openings and the skylite in the shower. 20 minutes later and the shower surround has hundreds of dead beetles as well as the entry way door floor. This stuff works!!There is no smell from this stuff. Time to go spray the garage openings and sheds now.

Steve

Lambchop · 10-08-2010, 11:47 AM

Here we are in KS tonite & yes we have the beetles we brought from WI!
We have been using Duct Tape to remove them from the ceilings & etc. Works great, but put the used tape outside otherwise some get loose & re invade the RV. Also, if you vacuum them, make sure you remove the vacuum bag from your vacuum! Yes, they will come out of your vacuum!

Have fun.

Roy

Exnavydiver · 10-09-2010, 02:56 PM

I just figured out the other huge entry point. The attic vents, huge opening for them and they walk right in through them. Then they get all over the sky light over the shower between the inner and outer domes. From there is is easy run to any holes in the ceiling, AC vents, around the ACs, behind the pocket door and into the rig. Also from the cable run in from the antenna where it comes into the front closet. They also find any gap in the side insulation. Sneaky those little varmints. These are all areas I have found carcasses... Dave

**Rondo** · 10-09-2010, 03:29 PM

John and Cindy-- Those were not Lady Bugs ! The Asian Beetle has the really bad stench when crushed or vacuumed up! It's part of their defense mechanism. The real Lady Bugs don't have that!
Dave-- I think you've got an idea on the ceiling vents and etc. They get in anywhere they can!

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