Boxelder Bugs are Back

It's that time of year again when the red, orange and black bugs start to take their territory. Looking for the perfect silver bullet to get rid of those pesky box elder bugs that seem to over take the sunny side of your building or home? Well I wish I could deliver, but I can't. This problem needs to be dealt with by good old fashioned elbow grease. Inside you need to vacuum them away, outside you need to spray them down with soapy water. Mix up a cup or two of cloths detergent in a gallon sprayer, lightly mix so not to get over run by suds, and spray away. Get them as they cluster in clumps and watch as they fall away dead.

Orange and black bugs

Here they come, the red and black or orange and black Halloween bugs or boxelder bugs. With the warm weather descending upon us, the boxelders that were over wintering will be scurrying over to the boxelder tree with in the next few months to start the process again. Get the old soap and water sprayer out or consider some of the DIY products you can find online for box elder bugs. These are the most insane to get rid of bugs out there I think, so the battle begins.

Box elder bug sure fire elimination

Is it true...a sure fire way to finally get rid of the bug that has plagued society for years and years? Can it be as simple as a bait or a pheromone that will kill off for good this bug we all hate? Well unfortunately no. With the warm winter days comes the boxelder bug slithering it's way into the offices and homes across America like an unwanted flu or cold. How can we stop them? Vacuum them. I have an old shop vac that I keep only for boxelder bugs on the outside of my home, and another little carry along canister vac with a hose for the inside. This system instantly eliminates the pest and everyone is happy. Short of cutting down a ton of trees or using sprays that don't really work, vacuuming is the best way to do it. Keep you house and box elder problem clean with your handy every day vacuum.

Red and Black Bugs

This is one of those times of years where you start to spy red and black insects or orange and black bugs known as boxelder bugs or Halloween bugs. These box elder bugs like to hang around with lady bugs as well and even stink bugs. They all like to hang on the sunny side of your building or home, get into any crack or crevice, and drive you nuts. How can you eliminate these bugs from your life? There are several sprays you can use, and you can also do your best to seal out and bug proof your home by sealing every crack and crevice you can find around your home. Along with keeping the bugs out, you will also increase your energy conservation. Insect proofing the home won't work completely, but it will help eliminate many of the box elders from getting inside by about seventy five percent. Good luck and fight the good fight.

Red and Black Bug

The red and black bug is what we call in the industry...well...a headache! It's the boxelder bug and here in the northeast we are going to be having some pretty warm temperatures. They are saying that we might hit the 60 degree mark tomorrow and this will mean one thing, all the red and black bugs will be coming out of hiding to get a breath of this warm fresh air. Boxelder bugs will emerge in peoples homes and pest controllers will get calls to get rid of them and everyone will scramble like crazy until the next freeze. There really are no do it yourself pest control products on the market for these bugs specifically on the inside. What I would not recommend is smashing them with a newspaper as they will stain your walls and some may leave a bit of a foul odor. My suggestion would be to use the good old fashioned vacuum. Suck them down as they appear and this will eliminate them from the house for good!

Stink Bugs in Philadelphia and New Jersey

Something stinky this way comes. I live in Pennsylvania and the big stink here is, well, stink bugs. These bugs are a present from Asia and one that we could have done with out. People who are lucky enough to have them as a house guest can discourage their entrance by caulking and sealing around the outside of their house as best they can. Keep screens tight. Once inside the best defense is to vacuum them down. If you decide to squash them with a rolled up newspaper then beware, things can get stinky!

STINK BUGS

What did these poor bugs do to deserve such a name? These bugs are notorious around this time a year and alot of people complain about them for one reason, when you crush them they stink! SO how do you avoid these smelly buggers? It's almost impossible. If you are being bothered by them inside your home then I would recommend using your vacuum and sucking them down rather than smashing them with a rolled up newspaper. On the outside, other than doing a perimeter spray, there is not a whole lot more you can do but live with them.

Halloween Bugs

Halloween is right around the corner and with it comes the possibility of Halloween bugs or boxelder bugs as they are technically called. Boxelder bugs become a problem on warm days during the fall and winter when they start to appear inside the home. These bugs are a nuisance, but not really a danger. People hate them because they gather on the sunny side of the house or building with great numbers and then find their way into the home via holes in the house. When they do appear on the inside the best thing to do it just vacuum them down. If you smash them the will leave a mark and this stain can be permanent.

Picture of a Boxelder Bug

If you are wondering what a boxelder bug looked like you can refer to this picture.

red and black bugs

Halloween bugs, red and black bugs, orange and black bugs, bugs that cluster on the outside walls, these are some of the ways people describe boxelder bugs. These bugs can become a big problem for some people and business because these bugs can become great in numbers and they congregate on the sunny side of the home or building. Once they are there they usually find their way into the home or building through cracks and once this happens they can be visible all year long through the winter. If you get these pests inside the best thing to do is use a vacuum and suck them down. Don't crush them because they will stain and it is inadvisable to spray with chemical. Outside you can spray the clusters with soapy water. This is a safe way to kill them off. To minimize the bugs from congregating around you house you should rake away any leaves that are around your home's perimeter and mulch is another area they like to hide in, so you may want to consider that when putting mulch in. You may also want to caulk and seal areas outside you home that would allow them to enter you home. Boxelder bugs are not harmful and often times people learn to live with them, if you can't do that then you can try some of the methods mentioned in this article. If you feel you must hire a pest control company be sure they have a license to spray trees because this is how to treat the source. That would be the only reason to hire a professional, other than that I would say they are taking your money because you can't treat inside for them and the outside walls could be sprayed but in a few days that pesticide would be rendered useless from the elements.

Biggest batch of box elder bugs

Biggest batch of box elder bugs since 1988

ST. PAUL (AP) - Bug experts say recent weather conditions will give the Twin Cities area its biggest hatch of box elder bugs since 1988.

"It appears that conditions were just right," said entomologist Jeffrey Hahn. "We had the warm spring and then the dry summer - conditions that are right for a big hatch."

Experts say if one black-and-orange bug is found, chances are thousands more are nearby. They often cover the bark on female box elder trees and sometimes blanket other maples.

The bugs are more of a nuisance than anything, and they don't bite people.

Hahn said there are ways to keep them from invading a house.

"Caulk and seal," Hahn said. "After that, a judicious use of pesticides" is the best way to fight back. Many homeowners also spray box elders with a mixture of laundry soap or dish detergent and water.

This year's large hatch comes as Minneota celebrates its 125th anniversary and its annual Boxelder Bug Days - a festival famous for its box elder bug races.

Bill Holm, a Minneota resident and literature and writing professor at Southwest Minnesota State University at Marshall, wrote about the bugs in "Boxelder Bug Variations," a 1985 collection of poems, prose and music.

Learn to live with them, Holm suggested. "They don't do any real damage."

Warm fall and winter weather brings bloxelder bugs

It's been crisp and cool and feelin' like fall when suddenly Indian Summer hits and the crisp air turns spring like again. The temperatures go up to the high 70's and even 80's and with the warm weather comes the dreaded boxelder bugs. Boxelder bugs or Halloween bugs as people call them because of their orange and black bodies over winter in the wall voids and cracks and crevices of buildings. When warm weather hits they start to become active and become a bother in office buildings, homes , and schools. People complain of seeing them in the lights of drop ceiling covers and flying around the office. They tend to cluster on the sunny side of buildings becoming a bother to people trying to enter the buildings. Some ways to help control them inside is to use a vacuum cleaner with a hose and vacuum them as you see them. Outside people spray them down with soapy water or hot water. Truth is..The boxelder bug is one of the hardest bugs to get rid of in my opinion and anyone who has experienced a problem with them would agree with me I'm sure.