# Why do most people not kill ladybugs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-people-not-kill-ladybugs/577141 "2011-04-04T13:46:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-people-not-kill-ladybugs/577141/41 "2011-04-05T11:06:19Z")
Another vote for: cute, non-biting, helpful. Some farmers buy them by the sackful. I’m happy to have free ones (assuming they’re not the orange biting kind). And I try not to kill spiders in my house but if it’s big and hairy with long legs I’m not going to try to pick it up. I’m with [Kevin Fitzgerald](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131619471)\* - drop a phonebook on it. Actually, anything buglike with long legs is a candidate for squishing - big spiders, crane flies, centipedes, etc. I hates them, I does. BTW, we called pillbugs “doodlebugs” when I was growing up. Fun to poke and then roll around. \*spider story about halfway down, after the wallaby one. Even funnier if you listen to it instead of reading it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-people-not-kill-ladybugs/577141/42 "2011-04-05T13:35:17Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I was also told that rain was God emptying his chamberpot. Bleurgh. And now, thanks to the good lord, we’re all taking _golden_ showers! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-people-not-kill-ladybugs/577141/43 "2011-04-05T13:40:59Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I was taught not to kill praying mantises, too. They kill pests, and besides, they have this kung-fu master vibe to them that I don’t want to mess with. Do you have to be taught that? My instinct on seeing one would be to back away slowly no matter what I was taught. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-people-not-kill-ladybugs/577141/44 "2011-04-05T17:56:39Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > Those are the worst - the first few summers they showed up, I would be so happy, because Ladybugs are great!!1! > > Then I got bit by one, and now I am death on Ladybugs. You can’t swat them because of the hard shells and the bite factor, and if you smash them, they stink in an Old-Lady, dead flower sort of way. Can’t vacuum them either, because your vacuum will then send that stink all over. We scoop them in toilet paper and flush them. > > For the record, I don’t kill spiders unless they’re on my face or something. If I get one on my arm, I’ll flick it off, but never smash. Duct tape is great for grabbing these. They stick to it easily, and they stay stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-people-not-kill-ladybugs/577141/45 "2011-04-05T18:06:54Z")
I don’t kill any bugs directly, but I’ll usually catch them and toss them in my fishtank. If they can swim to safety, I tip my hat to them and let them be on their way… until next time. Indoors of course. Outside I leave all the bugs alone. I don’t think we’ve ever had a ladybug in the house but I’d probably ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-people-not-kill-ladybugs/577141/46 "2011-04-05T20:07:09Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > There’s a relatively recent invasive species to the US that looks like an orange ladybug - they do bite, and they stink if squashed. I think I’ve heard them called “Asian ladybugs.” > > But yeah, same reason why people don’t kill butterflies: they’re pretty and don’t bite. Plus that whole aphid-eating thing. they do bite but they aren’t feeding on you. some will give an exploratory bite just to check things out. you can brush them off and avoid the stink and let them continue to eat aphids. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-people-not-kill-ladybugs/577141.md?page=2)