As we continue working on the house, now that we have most of the downstairs in shape, we are turning our attention to the upstairs.
In particular, the hanging of curtains. It’s not like we really need curtains on the upstairs windows. We rarely need to go upstairs and most of it is just being used as storage. But the wife has a valid argument in that hanging curtains will help keep the cold out in the winter and the heat out in the summer.
So, we set off to Walmart to get some curtain rods. (Curtains will be selected later).
Upon returning, I went upstairs to start installing them. My first stop was the upstairs bathroom. Okay, I can definitely see he need for curtains there. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d really not have the rest of the world to be able to see me using the toilet or taking a shower. Not that I’m likely to ever do so in the upstairs bathroom, but we might have guests who do and I’d like to afford them the same courtesy.
After laying out my tools I got the ladder set up so I could make measurements for the curtain rod hardware on the wall. That’s when I saw them.
A loveliness of ladybugs crawled all over the window. I’m not sure how they all got inside. Maybe they piggybacked on the squirrel. (The squirrel has either not returned or returned and been very stealthy. I still have the traps set up. I’m guessing the squirrel hasn’t returned as the peanut butter cracker snacks haven’t been touched. Maybe it doesn’t like the snacks?)
Since they were crawling on the window I figured they wanted back outside. The window didn’t have a screen so I opened it up, being careful to not squish any of the ladybugs. I then got a piece of paper and carefully “escorted” the ladybugs out the window. I’d put the paper in their path as they crawled, waited for them to get on it, then passed the paper through the open window to the outside. Most of the ladybugs flew away. A few stayed on the windowsill. A few of the little stinkers crawled back inside as I was trying to catch and release their compatriots. They were returned to the great outdoors as well.
The whole thing took me about half an hour. There were one or two that flew away into the bathroom. They landed somewhere I couldn’t find them. I’m hoping they survive long enough for me to find and escort them outside with the rest of the loveliness.
It’d be nice if we could figure out how all the wilderness critters keep getting into the house. The exterminators will be returning in a few weeks to take care of the outside entry points where the squirrel keeps getting in. I’ve checked the upstairs windows. There doesn’t appear to be any cracks around the edges. If the external repairs take care of the squirrel problem, maybe it will solve the ladybug problem too.
The only other alternative would be getting the exterminator to spray for the insectoid invaders to kill them off. I’d really rather not have to do that.
Do you have any hints or tricks for keeping the ladybugs out, my Hordeling? If so, leave a comment and let me know.
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