Karen Loegering hasn’t used her front door much for the last three days.

&uot;I don’t dare. I don’t dare use it in the good weather,&uot; Loegering said, sounding frustrated. She didn’t want to add to problem because they were already everywhere &045; probably 20 on the front door.

They are called multicolored Asian lady beetles &045; also known as Asian lady beetles, Japanese lady beetles and Halloween lady beetles &045; and Karen and her husband Gerald said at several times this weekend they were vacuuming insects off the walls, ceilings and windows.

&uot;Every time there was a break in the football game I vacuumed,&uot; he said

This isn’t too surprising. The presence of the insects is literally in people’s faces, particularly if they’re in the sun. Many people are going through the same frustrations as the Loegerings.

It seems to have all started Saturday, when the weather improved.

Entomologist Jeff Hahn of the University of Minnesota Extension Service said the bugs are searching for a place to spend the winter. He said the recent cold snap was a signal to the insects, and now that the weather is better they’re looking for homes.

He said they don’t present a danger to structures or food, and aren’t poisonous. &uot;The number is the problem. Two or three we could handle. Two or three hundred &045; it’s a nuisance,&uot; Hahn said.

And of course they bite. &uot;They’re looking for food,&uot; he said. &uot;They’re just seeing if we’re something worth eating. We’re not food for them.&uot;

And they smell. He said their pungent fluids could stain wallpaper. It also deters predators like birds.

&uot;It wouldn’t bother me if when I opened the door 50 didn’t fly in,&uot; Justin Dokken of Albert Lea said Monday afternoon, as the beetles covered the sunny side of his house, and as they continued to land on his body. &uot;See this,&uot; he said, brushing off another bug. &uot;I was just standing here.&uot;

He said he has found success by mowing the lawn, caulking and sealing his house, and using bug spray; still, his house was covered. He said his house gets it worse than others because of the white paint.

He said what’s really irritating is when they bang around in lampshades and against the walls and windows.

Dawn Omvig said she has accepted the bugs and hasn’t taken any measures. She plans on waiting out the swarms.&uot;They’re nature. They can’t help that they come out,&uot; she said. &uot;They’re pretty. But while they’re here, they’re a nuisance,&uot; she said.

The beetles were introduced to California by the United States Department of Agriculture in the 1960s, and other areas of the country in the late ’70s and early ’80s, to eat aphids. But it appears that none of those populations survived, Hahn said. In fact, an unapproved population wasn’t found until the late ’80s in Louisiana, where they may have come off a ship, Hahn said.

He said the first sighting in Minnesota occurred in 1995, and by 2000, they were statewide. He said scientists aren’t sure about long-term ecological effects yet, but the beetles are good for farms because they eat aphids that can destroy crops.

He said once the weather gets colder, the beetles will stay out of sight, although, they could become active on mild winter days. &uot;People will say ‘where’d they come from? I thought they were gone,’&uot; Hahn said.

He said curbing the insects is difficult, particularly if you start late.

Hahn said bug spraying and sealing the entry points of a house like cracks, eaves, utility-wire holes, and windows can be effective. &uot;You can’t stop them all but you slow them down,&uot; he said.

The Loegerings said they tried it, and that the bug spray only worked on the insects that were sprayed directly. They said since they sealed around their air conditioner, things have been better.

But Monday there were still probably more than 30 in their dining room. For now, they’ll use the side door, which they said is also covered by the insects.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock@albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)