DES MOINES (AP) - Iowans were complaining over the weekend that ladybugs had begun infesting their homes and yards.

"This year is as bad as it's been," said Iowa State University Professor Donald R. Lewis.

He said the ladybugs are the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, an insect accidentally brought to the United States in 1988. It has been in Iowa only since 1995.

The insects arrive every fall, Lewis said, hanging around the sunny south sides of area homes. His theory: the hot and dry weather in late summer tends to favor the development of aphids, a food source of the ladybugs. Hence, the boom in population.

Other experts say the ladybugs were hibernating during the recent cold snap and now that it is warm again they're coming out in swarms.

Karen Houghton, an avid gardener from Des Moines, doesn't mind dealing with the little beetles.

"My husband and I went to Lowe's and I seemed to attract them. He was brushing them off my shoulder and out of my hair," said Houghton. "I didn't mind them though. I love them. This is a bug I can tolerate."