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amy75 · Nov 25, 2005, 08:37 AM

My six-month old dachshund has vomited several times in the past day and a half. With the holiday, we weren't able to get into the vet until tomorrow. He is fine right now, but I just caught him eating a ladybug. Now he is coughing a bit and gagging a little. We've had quite a few of these unwelcome critters in our home for the past week, and we are trying to get them out of the house. Could they be the culprit of his sickness, and are they poisonous? I am very concerned - especially because you can't always catch him if he eats one. :(

labman · Nov 25, 2005, 09:01 AM

I have reliable sources, and have not been warned about them. What you are seeing is likely Japanese Lady Beetles, an invasive species that has been around for a while. They seem to come in the house in the fall and die. Under housekeeping advice, I have heard they are harmless, just sweep them up and dispose of them. Just because they don't eat your house doesn't make them entirely harmless.

Unfortunately, if you don't beat her to them, then may eat them and upset her stomach. I doubt they are poisonous, but almost anything strange can upset a dogs digestion. You certainly don't want the mess, or her to lose the food she ate. No fun for her either. It might not hurt to talk to the vet. Of course to cover himself, he may say bring her in and it will be $50 for him to say what I said for free.

fredg · Nov 25, 2005, 09:22 AM

Hi,
As another person answered, there seems to be no documentation that a ladybug will harm a dog.
You probably know the difference between a ladybug and a Japanese Beetle, with the lady bug, usually, being orange with blackish colored spots all over its back.
A ladybug can emit a yellowish liquid substance, which stains clothes, furniture, and has a very "stinkish" odor.
It is possible that ladybugs can cause your dog's stomach to be upset. Since there is no evidence that it will, does not rule out the possibility that it can.
Please ask your Vet about it. If your dog hasn't eaten anything out of the ordinary in the last couple of days, then it's quite a coincidence, isn't it.
I do wish you the best, and hopefully, you can get rid of the small critters in your house. We have had them come into our house as well, even building their "homes" in the eaves under the roof!
You can spray with a regular canned spray of "flea" killer, spraying around the outside of the eaves, under your roof. That will take care of them. Sometimes, we can see literally 100's of them flying around during the evening, right before the sun goes down.

labman · Nov 25, 2005, 10:12 AM

The Japanese lady beetles look much like the familiar lady bugs except they are larger. As I said, they are much more likely to be lying around dead in the house. I think my information on them came from our county agent at the Cooperative Extension Service. Until I read about them, I had been puzzled about all these big ladybugs. Even the most urban counties have county agents. I think they spend more time helping home owners than farmers.

fredg · Nov 26, 2005, 06:27 AM

Hi,
Here in the Great Smokey Mountains of SouthWest VA, there are thousands and thousands of Lady Bugs during certain times of the year, in many, many areas. The newspapers here always have articles about them, what to do, how to try keeping them out of homes.
I have never seen a dead Japanese Lady Beetle in our home; but, have seen many dead Lady Bugs, and some alive, crawling over the ceiling, on the walls, etc.
Here in the mountains, it is much more likely that any dead in the house are Lady Bugs and not Japanese Lady Beetles.