Are ladybugs fatal to servers and switches?

[Dreece]

I have an army of them crawling around my setup in the space sectioned-off in the attic space... the common-sense in me says yes they are going to annihilate my setup... but they've been living peacefully amongst all that tech for over a year now, including bees which I think have a hive in some cavity between the roofing tiles and membrane....

...so... the million dollar question... do I go all Terminator on these creepy crawlies and potentially destroy the ladybug population in my county... or do I accept that they are going to continue to live amongst all my tech in peace and harmony?

 

[Aestr]

If they're getting inside your devices they are going to leave their excrement on them. This may cause direct damage, and will certainly build up over time causing other issues as well as making resale tough. You can certainly clear them and the bees out, but if you don't address their ability to get back in or find a better location you'll be doing this forever.

 

[Dreece]

Agreed. The reason I put the question out there is because they are not actually getting inside my kit... I've routinely opened up the servers and found nothing... if anything I just found one dead wasp stuck between the grill holes.

I have found ladybugs sleeping inside switch ports. I haven't opened up the switches but they don't appear to have any holes big enough for ladybugs or bees to get inside.

Yes my concern was exactly that, I can clear them out, but if they keep coming back then its going to be a chore.

A solution would be to get one of those big racks with total sealed front door and high power fans on intake. that way nothing can get in... well not without being obliterated first.

sound like a good plan?

 

[Dreece]

The issue is that this is a very very old house, and I dont think it would be a cheap option to get professionals in to make it creep crawly free, bar the odd spider of course. In this case a sealed rack might be the economical course of action. The ladybugs and bees dont actually get into the rest of the house. It's just the attic. So it does appear we at least have a solid barrier there, otherwise I would have dealt with this issue sooner. But as they dont actually interfere with us I've never really felt the need to deal with it. A case of live and let live really.

 

[arglebargle]

Maybe buy some 2x4 at home depot and make a screened frame to put your rack inside? Get some window screen and just staple that on all sides and you'll have airflow but the bugs will stay out. You'll need to come up with some solution for getting cables in/out without letting too many bugs in but that shouldn't be too difficult.