So I’ve been dealing with this for a while now (moved in 1.5 years ago) and honestly at this point I’m losing my mind a little. I live on the top floor of a 2-story old-ish house near Zurich, close to fields and farmland, and my office room is absolutely full of ladybugs. Like, not a few, dozens of them, crawling on my walls, flying into my face while I’m trying to work, just going about their day completely unbothered. I’m “taking care of” around 20-30 ladybugs every day, consistently… It starts around fall (as usual), and keeps on going throughout the year until next spring. It doesn’t just stop once they are in… I’ve sealed all the windows myself and it didn’t really help, they seem to be coming in through the roof somehow (tiny gaps I can’t even see). The thing is, I’m a tenant so I can’t touch the roof, and when I contacted the landlord about it she basically sent me a link to an article explaining why ladybugs come indoors in autumn, told me she’d had the same problem herself once (“fist-sized clusters” of them, her words), and her advice was to vacuum them up, avoid keeping windows open, and wait for cold weather to sort it out. Friendly enough, but that was it, no offer to inspect anything, no mention of calling anyone, just… it’s nature, good luck. I’ve read that this is partly the Asian Harlequin ladybug which is invasive and apparently really aggressive about finding warm spots to overwinter, which would explain why my room is basically their hotel. They also leave behind some kind of pheromone that attracts more of them year after year, which is a fun detail. I’ve tried a few things inside the room: apart from sealing gaps, i tried wiping windows with various solutions, reducing artificial light at night, setting up light traps at night, etc. but nothing really works, and I’m not really in a position to be vacuuming bugs every single morning half the year. Has anyone dealt with something similar, especially as a renter in Switzerland? Is there any way to actually force the landlord’s hand here, legally or otherwise? Any advice is appreciated. submitted by /u/manolis09
Originally posted by u/manolis09 on r/Switzerland