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Old 02-04-2023, 12:10 PM   #1
LED1974
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Bugs

I purchased a toy hauler in November. After I brought it home I found lady bugs in the full bathroom so I setoff some bombs and cleaned up the mess. Went on a New Years trip when we got to the destination I found more lady bugs in the RV. Again cleaned them out. It appears they were coming up from the gray water tank, so i put bleach in the gray water tank for the trip home. I drained the tanks. I went into the RV today and found 30 dead lady bugs in the bathroom shower and floor. I have never seen so meany lady bugs at my house before. At first they were green color which I haven't seen before and now it red and green ones.
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Old 02-04-2023, 02:27 PM   #2
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle
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Old 02-04-2023, 02:52 PM   #3
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The above link, in post #2 may not be the type of "Japanese beetle" that you have. There is another type, called the Japanese Lady Beetle that looks very similar to the "good lady bug" that we used to turn loose on rose bushes to eat the aphids. This new "Japanese Lady Beetle" is a huge problem in many areas east of the Mississippi River and is migrating further west each season. We found them in our fifth wheel, they invaded the southern side of our house 2 years ago and "wintered under the siding". Last year I sprayed the entire house with insecticide and they did not nest here this winter.

They are much hardier (if that's a word) than ladybugs and are easily identifiable as being more "tan than red"....

https://www.familyhandyman.com/artic...n-lady-beetle/
https://extension.umn.edu/nuisance-i...n-lady-beetles
https://www.southernliving.com/garde...an-lady-beetle
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Old 02-04-2023, 03:00 PM   #4
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i leave my sewer valve closed when camping at a full hookup site…i open and drain the tanks every two days or so…..If you leave your sewer valve open even if it’s just the gray tank you can get bugs in your tanks…maybe the prior owner did it this way.

the bugs were probably at the top of the tank out of the water so the bleach didn’t hit them unless you fill the tank full. …but be careful don’t just turn a hose on full blast at your tank flush fitting or you can damage the tank.
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Old 02-04-2023, 03:25 PM   #5
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The lady beetle is very common this time of year and they sure do stink when squished or vacuumed up. Unlike an actual lady bug, the lady beetle is invasive and an annoyance
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Old 02-05-2023, 06:18 AM   #6
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Thank you all for the posts. Now to get rid of them.
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Old 02-05-2023, 06:23 AM   #7
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Good luck. Keep us posted on what you figure out. Thanks.!!
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Old 02-05-2023, 06:26 AM   #8
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Don't have them in my trailer but for years we had a cluster fly and lady bug problem. They tend to return to the same place. When I say problem you might return from a trip with 500+ flies in the house. This is the stuff I bought used and where they exist a bit during the "bad times" of the year. The problem is gone:


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Old 02-05-2023, 09:01 AM   #9
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I started setting off bug bombs inside my fifth wheel at least once a year because we get those dreaded "stink" bugs. When they first started showing up in my previous camper I couldn't get rid of them, and then they showed up within the first month of my current camper, I decided to go aggressive against them.

I stumbled into a solution that seems to work, although it does mean sweeping up dead ones ever now and then.

My first attempt was 4 bug bombs inside the trailer. One in the front living room, one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom, one in the bed room. I turned on the "fan" on the air conditioner so the bug spray would circulate through the air ducts also and if there were are leaks in the air ducts, that would push some of the bug spray into the roof of the trailer.

After the first time I did this, I had a bazillion dead stink bugs drop to the floor. I had no clue where they all came from. After sweeping them up, there was a steady flow of them, maybe a hundred every day until the numbers dwindled to just a couple after about 2 weeks.

So, I know these irritants hatch eggs, so after 2 weeks I repeated the process with the 4 bug bombs. This time, I turned on the furnace and put the air conditioner on "fan" and let the spray circulate through ALL the duct work, and if there were any leaks, the spray would get under the floor and into the attic again.

Every now and then, for the next year, we'd occasionally have a dead bug reappear. In the Fall (1 year now), I noticed them coming back. But the outside was covered with them. So, I repeated (Now, this is 3 times in less than 2 months with the bug bombs).

Then went for 2 years and didn't have another bug of ANY kind in the trailer again.

So, now, once a year I set off 4 bug bombs with the air conditioner fan and the furnace running, and I also set 1 off in the basement. I remove the back wall in the pass through and set one off back there too.

The end result is.... we never have bugs any more, not even mosquitoes inside the camper. I think the spray has penetrated every crack and crevasse and that stops them from coming in in the first place now.

For us, this works! We've never had bugs or gnats or anything like that in any of our holding tanks. Valves are always closed, except when dumping.

Anyway, this works. And, when setting off those bug bombs, we clean off the counter tops and wash the exposed bed linens. We leave it every where else. Washing it away, defeats the purpose. No, we've never gotten sick nor have the dogs.
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Old 02-06-2023, 07:01 AM   #10
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In talking to my wife, I thought I would add something to this. May people don't know that lady bugs basically make a "mark" of good nesting spots that attract ladybugs to nest the next year. The best thing to do is break that cycle. When solving the clusterfly problem we believe we solved the lady bug problem (posted the stuff we use). This is sprayed on the exterior of the house where it gets sunny during the day. This reduces entry over the first 2 years to now nothing. In NH we spray once in mid-September as they start coming in during the fall.
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Old 02-06-2023, 11:36 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jxnbbl View Post
In talking to my wife, I thought I would add something to this. May people don't know that lady bugs basically make a "mark" of good nesting spots that attract ladybugs to nest the next year. The best thing to do is break that cycle. When solving the clusterfly problem we believe we solved the lady bug problem (posted the stuff we use). This is sprayed on the exterior of the house where it gets sunny during the day. This reduces entry over the first 2 years to now nothing. In NH we spray once in mid-September as they start coming in during the fall.
The Asian Beetles showed up here in coastal southeast Texas maybe 6-8 years ago. I noticed they are attracted to sunlight and will fly right out the door on a sunny day. They seem to almost “rain” out of the big oak trees behind our house. The typical aerosol bug bomb will take care of most of them inside the RV.
We haven’t gotten them inside the house, yet.
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Old 03-26-2023, 05:42 AM   #12
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To follow up. It has been a little while since I posted on this. Two rounds of bug balms weeks apart and clean out the gray water tanks.


It has been about 3 weeks and only one or two bugs at different times.



Thanks for all of the advice.
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Old 03-26-2023, 06:20 AM   #13
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I’m somewhat curious how the bugs in the dump site/connection/tank get up your dump hose, into your grey/black tank, into your plumbing lines and then into the sink, tub or commode and then into the air without a terrible stench along with it. Asking for a friend….
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Old 03-28-2023, 08:23 AM   #14
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I have no Idea where the bugs came from. I kept finding them in the master bathroom sink and shower then in the kitchen area sink.
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Old 03-28-2023, 09:59 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by LED1974 View Post
I have no Idea where the bugs came from. I kept finding them in the master bathroom sink and shower then in the kitchen area sink.
If there is no "condensation puddles" in the windows, then it's likely they are migrating to those "wet areas" on their quest to find water.... Adult "lady beetles" get most of their water requirement from the foods they eat, but in the larvae stages, they need water to survive, so I'd guess the females are "drawn to water or moisture when they lay their eggs"

Just a "sort of guess at to why you're finding them around the drains".. They probably aren't in the holding tanks and migrating up to the sinks, but rather in the trailer and migrating to the sink for water, either because they aren't eating aphids inside the trailer, which is their normal source of water, so they're thirsty or because they are looking to lay eggs:.....
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