Bugs to consider if moving to KY! (home, winter)

[pacalady]

Would appreciate more information of the 'asian beetles' that look like lady bugs.... here on the west coast 'lady bugs (tiny little orange things with black spots about 1/4" in diameter are a GOOD thing! This particular 'asian bug' doesn't sound though!!

Where can I find out more info?

PacaLady

[gussie]

they are little yellow jackets.. that live under the ground and are able to sting over and over!!!!!!!!!They are meat eaters they are especially bad in late summer.. try going to the grocery store with a bunch of meat taking it to your car!!!!!

[Davart]

Originally Posted by pacalady

Would appreciate more information of the 'asian beetles' that look like lady bugs.... here on the west coast 'lady bugs (tiny little orange things with black spots about 1/4" in diameter are a GOOD thing! This particular 'asian bug' doesn't sound though!!

Where can I find out more info?

PacaLady

They look a lot the same, the only down side to Asian Lady Beatles is they get in your house in winter to weather over. Other than that they are the same as Ladybugs as they eat aphids and other pest. Frankly they don't bother me, if I have to many I'll vacuum them up.They're not destructive and really don't bother anything.
The dots are a little different and the color varies with the Asian variety

Asian Beatles


Ladybugs

[deserthorse]

We are thinking we might end up in the Lexington area in the next year or so. We're in central VA now. I'm a little concerned reading about the snakes We have Copperheads here, but in 20 years, most of them in the country (but not the woods) I've only come across one. Timber rattlers up in the mountains, but again, I've never come across one.

I'm only a little bit nervous about snakes... the poisonous ones! Are many people there bitten each year? Are there rattlers on the horse farms and more cleared areas? What's this about cottonmouths??? Not around Lexington?

I have horses, and I'm outside, doing things, A LOT. We garden, too. We've gotten up close and personal with some mighty big black snakes (I really didn't know they could literally crawl along the ceiling, upside down, until I saw one do it!) but poisonous is worse Am I going have to be real careful when moving hay? Or just when moving firewood?

[Kilted_Son]

No Surprise to me KY. has their share of pests. California has their share of pests & destructive pests as well, besides Britney Spears & Paris Hilton, Nancy Pelosi. We have a Southwestern Version of the Brown Recluse (Loxoceles Deserta & Loxoceles Arizonica) with similar envenomation characteristics, perhaps not as potent. I was bit by one & spent a week in the hospital, my leg swelled up like a the size of a torpedo, but amazingly the tissue necrosis wasn't nearly as devastating. We have our Bees, Mud Daubers, wasps, hornets, Black Bees, white fly,Termites, Black widdows. fleas, Ticks chiggers, Rattlers, ground squirrels (which are known to carry Yersinia Pestis or "Plague") Beetles, roaches, snails & slugs, well, I just wonder how often one has to treat their premisesin a suburban, semirural environment for these annoying little creatures. No matter where you go, there wil be creepy crawly, slitering things & arthropods & arachnids.

[nokygirl]

I live closer to Northern Kentucky, and we do not have rattlesnakes here. I have seen my share of black snakes (they can get really big) and various other smaller snakes (like garter snakes), but nothing poisonous. We have copperheads, but they are rare and I have never seen one in all of my childhood years playing outside (or my adult years, either). My husband is a snake lover, so he doesn't like us to harm any snakes. My grandfather always told us to never kill a black snake because they feed on other pests that can be more harmful, like rats, mice and certain insects.

Other pests: We always check for ticks in the summer after coming in from the woods or weedy areas, and fleas are a definite problem with the animals, so we treat them year-round. I am a bug-in-the-house hater, but the house remains pretty bug-free except for the aforementioned "ladybugs". Any time the sun shines and it starts to get warm, especially in the spring and fall, they swarm inside the house. I do the same as the previous posted mentioned - just vaccuum them up!

Forgot to mention mosquitoes - they eat me up! I have to wear repellant outside any time after dark in the summer or I can't go out for very long. However, I think that is just my body chemistry; most I know don't have that problem.

[mdawg]

i saw my first wasp and 3-cornered fly of the year today, the first of many more to come im sure.

[pacalady]

mdawg:
What is a 3-cornered fly? Never heard of such a thing, and you've got my curiosity up!! Are they just a pesky little thing like a house fly, or worse???

PacaLady

[Davart]

Originally Posted by pacalady

mdawg:
What is a 3-cornered fly? Never heard of such a thing, and you've got my curiosity up!! Are they just a pesky little thing like a house fly, or worse???

PacaLady

It's a Deerfly

[pacalady]

Ok, now I understand .....about the deer fly ..... we have a HUGE fly called a "horse fly' here ..... they like to bite the belly of the horses, or their butts, or anywhere where else they can get a 'nibble' including un-aware humans..... I get the idea though .... thanks for the info....

Yup we have mosquitoes too, but because we live on the prairie,they aren't an issue for evenings on the deck and bar b cues...

Nothing in the 'bugs in Ky' to deter me from moving.! I can hardly wait to get there!!!

Thank you all for your insight .... keep up the info! It is much appreciated!

PacaLady