Most true ladybugs don't bite and are completely harmless. Asian lady beetles look like ladybugs and they can bite, but it’s small, rarely breaks skin, and it isn’t venomous (just annoying).
You feel a little pinch and you look down. You see a “ladybug” and then you wonder: can ladybugs bite? The answer comes down to whether you’re seeing a ladybug or an Asian lady beetle pretending to be a “ladybug.”
True ladybugs, the native ladybird beetles, are garden-friendly predators that eat aphids by the hundreds. They don't bite people and pose no threat at all. If anything, you want them around your plants.
Asian lady beetles, on the other hand, look a lot like ladybugs. But they’re not. They were introduced decades ago for pest control and now they’re widespread. They resemble ladybugs but tend to be a bit larger and more orange, often with an M-shaped marking right behind the head. This is the one people notice in fall, when it gathers in large numbers on sunny walls and works its way indoors to overwinter.
Asian lady beetles can nip, meaning that it "tastes" the surface of whatever they land on with a small scrape or pinch using its chewing mouthparts. It isn't a true bite for blood and it carries no venom. At worst, it will feel like a bit of a pinch. Some people notice minor irritation, and a small number are mildly allergic to them. But for the vast majority of people, there is no medical concern.
With Asian lady beetles, the occasional nip is minor compared to the real problems they cause. They can invade homes in fall by the hundreds and the staining, foul-smelling fluid they release when they’re disturbed or crushed is not something you want to be around.
If you're tired of fall lady beetle swarms taking over the house, Mosquito Squad of Leominster can help. Mosquito Squad offers perimeter treatments that help keep lady beetles and other fall invaders out. These are applied by a trained technician alongside the barrier service that delivers up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a 21-day cycle.
