Huge swarm of LADYBIRDS hits the UK: ‘Petrified’ Brits say their houses are ‘crawling’ with beetles – here’s what’s behind the invasion

Brits have been left ‘petrified’ after discovering hundreds of harlequin ladybirds ‘crawling’ on their homes this week. 

‘Anyone else get invaded by ladybirds today? I love them but this was too much,’ one woman posted on TikTok^[1]. 

Another wrote: ‘They covered my whole living room, bedroom, all on the windows – I was petrified,’ while one vented: ‘My house is literally crawling with them.’

While the sudden influx might seem daunting, there’s a simple reason for it. 

‘They are looking for somewhere to lay low over the winter,’ Professor Tim Coulson, science author and biologist at the University of Oxford^[2], told the Daily Mail. 

‘They sleep through the winter through in what is known as diapause, a bit like insect hibernation. 

‘They slow their metabolism right down to minimise energy use. In the wild they chose places like under bark in a pile of leaves, anywhere providing a bit of shelter and away from things that might eat them. 

‘Sometimes they might come into houses looking for a safe haven.’

Brits have been left ‘petrified’ after discovering hundreds of harlequin ladybirds ‘crawling’ on their homes this week

Known as cluster–hibernators, ladybirds swarm because they’re looking for a warm place to hibernate for winter.

When one of them finds a suitable place to spend the winter, it releases a pheromone that attracts a more of them. 

In fact, the pheromone can keep the beetles coming back year after year. 

Dozens of concerned Brits flocked to TikTok to share footage of ladybirds on their houses.

‘Did anyone else today get absolutely invaded by ladybirds? I turn round and within an hour there was just ladybirds absolutely everywhere. I love nature but this was just too much for me,’ TikTok user @mummybossadventure said. 

Another user, @meetthealis, said: ‘My front door is covered in ladybirds. I am petrified of ladybirds, insects, spiders, worms, even flipping ants, and it took me 15 minutes to run in the door.’

And @livvy.robertss vented: ‘I don’t mind if it’s just one ladybug and you let it crawl in your hand. But this many guys – this is a mass invasion!’

Other users have raised concerns about diseases the ladybirds could be carrying – including sexually transmitted infections. 

Dozens of concerned Brits have flocked to TikTok to share footage of ladybirds on their houses

‘New fear unlocked, ladybirds with STDs?’ one user posted on TikTok. 

Ladybirds can carry sexually transmitted diseases, in the form of a fungus, according to Max Barclay, Senior Curator of Beetles at London’s Natural History Museum.  

‘It is a fungus that forms little scales on the wing cases on the outside of the ladybird,’ he explained. 

‘You can actually see it with your naked eye and so can tell whether the ladybird is infected. It just looks like a yellow crust on some parts of the ladybird’s exoskeleton.’

Thankfully, this fungus cannot be passed on to humans. 

‘It is a fungus that grows on the exoskeleton and we don’t have one of these, and we don’t have sex with ladybirds,’ Mr Barclay added. 

If your home has been overrun with ladybirds, you might be tempted to try to get rid of them. 

However, experts reassure that the beetles are harmless, and say we should ‘enjoy’ seeing them.  

Professor Coulson said: ‘Predators, like ladybirds, are incredibly important components of ecosystems. Take away predators, and all hell breaks loose.

‘We should cherish our ladybirds! Definitely do not kill the ladybirds as they keep the numbers of pest species down. 

‘Much better to have ladybirds than to spray crops with insecticides to kill the aphids.’

Likewise, Professor Helen Roy, one of the world’s leading ladybird experts from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, told the Daily Mail: ‘If they have entered your home in large numbers, please do not harm them. 

‘Either leave the insects where they are if possible or, if they are in the way, gather them gently into a box and put them in an outbuilding.’