School Year Pranks Range from Ladybug Infestation to Graffiti

End-of-the school year pranks in Maryland have ranged from the seemingly harmless – thousands of ladybugs released in one building – to the malicious – windows and doors defaced with spray paint throughout a school.

While one ladybug is cute, 72,000 of them create a messy swarm that takes hours to clean up.

Six seniors at Chopticon High School in St. Mary’s County and an alumnus face charges after they allegedly freed 72,000 ladybugs in the school on May 20. Four juveniles were charged with burglary, destruction of property and disrupting school activities. Three adults were also charged, reports The Washington Post.

The St. Mary County Sheriff’s said the bugs were ordered online.

The insects were set free May 20, and workers spent the next school day vacuuming ladybugs, filling trash bags with the tiny creatures. Some teachers said they felt bad for the bugs.

“It was a mess,” a school staff member told the Post. “When you walked in the building, they covered the walls and hallways, flying around, and they were all in a pile in different areas of the building.”

Two of the accused students were banned from walking in graduation ceremonies, which led to student protests from teens who said the prank wasn’t serious enough to warrant such punishment.

“Everybody got a good laugh out of it, I don’t really see what the big deal is about it,” student Kyle Fisher told WUSA.

In the second case, four masked students broke into Chesapeake High School in Anne Arundel County June 2

“This is more than a prank, it’s a costly destruction to property,” says the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

The suspects, believed to be three white males and one white female, reportedly damaged doors throughout the Pasadena school’s auditorium, patio, gym, cafeteria and receiving area.

Graffiti was spray painted on a county vehicle and some of the doors. Police say the intruders also used large quantities of caulk to fill door jams and putty to gum up all exterior door locks to the front, side and rear doors.

Anyone with information about the spray paint vandals is asked to contact Sergeant Ament at 410-222-0049.

»Photos of suspected Chesapeake High School vandals, from Anne Arundel County Police