Soldier beetles are not pests and don’t cause any harm to us. But still, if you have a soldier beetle in the house and you want to get rid of it, here is what you can do about it.
Soldier beetles can be a blessing to your garden as they eliminate aphids and are excellent pollinators. These beetles look a lot like lightning bugs and wasps, even though they don’t have the ability to generate light.
But since they have a wasp and bee-like appearance, a big bunch of these insects flying near your house can look scary.
If you are looking for ways to get rid of soldier beetles from your home and garden, you have landed in the right spot.
Read the article to learn effective ways to keep these insects away from your home.
Are They Good or Bad For Gardens?
These beetles are extremely important for your garden as they mostly feed on nectar and pollens, which makes the adult soldier beetle a great pollinator.
Moreover, while feeding and mating, these insects cause no damage to the plants and flowers.
The soldier beetle larvae, on the hand, are also essential as it actively hunts and consumes aphids, soft-bodied insects, and other plant pests that can be lethal to your valuable plants.
Since they look a little similar to wasps and bees, many people think that they are harmful and will bite and sting.
This is totally wrong as adult beetles are harmless; they do not sting and are non-poisonous in nature. You can identify them by noticing the distinctive black spots on their bodies.
Where Can They Be Found?
Soldier beetles are widely spread throughout the globe. You can find different species in parts of Asia, Central America, North America, South America, and Oceania.
The lady beetle likes to lay their insect eggs in areas with moist soil or leaf litter.
You will mostly find these insects near a variety of flower beds, but during the winter, they can enter your house in search of warm spots to survive the cold weather.
If you take a look at the life cycle of soldier beetles, you will notice that they mostly appear during August and September.
How To Get Rid of Them
Since soldier beetle adults are beneficial insects and harmless, there is no need to take any drastic steps to get rid of them.
Just ignore these insects, and they will leave on their own.
However, if you don’t like the sight of these beetles swarming around your house and garden, use the following tips and tricks to keep them away.
Garden Maintenance
Since there will be an abundance of food sources in a garden full of bright flowers and plants, it is the ideal location for soldier beetles to live.
If you have such plants and flowers, you must maintain the garden regularly to keep them away.
Consider pruning all the plants and keep removing the plant debris regularly. Also, do not overwater the plants, as they love to lay eggs in moist soil.
Seal up cracks around the house
During autumn and winter, the beetles will try to invade your house in search of a warm spot to survive the cold.
Since they are tiny, they usually enter through cracks, gaps, damaged vents, and damaged windows in the house.
Inspect your home to find these entry points and seal them properly.
Attract predators
Soldier beetles are hunted down by outdoor insects like spiders, assassin bugs, stink bugs, and more. Having a few in your garden will keep the soldier beetles away.
They are also hunted by lizards, birds, yard frogs, and more.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are soldier beetles attracted to?
Soldier beetles are highly attracted to gardens that have a wide variety of brightly colored flowers. These flowers are great for obtaining nectar which they love to consume.
They also like moist soil to lay eggs. Since they actively consume pollen and nectar, they can be considered good pollinators.
What instantly kills beetles?
Pyrethrin is a great insecticide that can instantly kill pets like beetles. This insecticide is produced from the chrysanthemum flower, and it directly attacks the nervous system of the beetles.
This results in a quick death. To get the best results, directly spray pyrethrin on the beetles.
Why are there soldier beetles in my house?
Soldier beetles are attracted to warm places during the winter. This is why a few of them might have entered your house in search of a cozy spot to spend the winters and survive the cold.
If you have fresh, brightly colored flowers inside as decorative pieces, these beetles will insanely be attracted to them.
What eats a soldier beetle?
Being tiny in size, soldier beetles are prey to different species, including lawn frogs, spiders, birds, bugs, pigeons, ants, and raccoons.
When in danger, these beetles secrete a chemical compound that makes them unappealing to predators.
Wrap Up
Soldier beetles are beneficial for your garden, but the intimidating appearance can be a little too much to handle.
Adding to that, no one likes a big bunch of beetles buzzing around their house.
Therefore if you want to get rid of these beetles, take special care of your garden and keep it clean. You also must seal up the entry points that the insects can use to come into your house.
We hope the article was useful. Thank you for reading it.
4 Comments. Leave new
I wonder if they could be fire colored beetles. I sent in a picture once of a blister beetle with smaller beetles all over it like this and the smaller beetles ended up being identified as fire colored beetles. I’m no expert here. I just thought I would share my experience with this phenomenon.
Here is the link to the bugguide page on what mine were. http://bugguide.net/node/view/168899
Wow, thanks Mike. It looks like you are probably right. We are linking to the genus page on BugGuide because there is a bit more information than on the species page.
Your welcome, bugman. I saw this post and it reminded me of my encounter with this behavior , so I went back and looked at my pic to see what the small beetles looked like. They were nearly identical to the ones in this post, so I thought I’d lend a helping hand.