Nuisance Pests—Boxelder Bugs

Daily life is full of small things that annoy us—slow wifi, traffic, or when someone puts the toilet paper roll on backwards, to name a few. The dictionary defines ‘nuisance’ as a person, thing, or situation that is annoying or that causes trouble or problems. If there were a bug listed in the definition, it would be the boxelder.
Boxelder bugs are known for being nuisance pests. They don’t sting, they don’t transmit diseases, and they usually don’t bite (there have been a few reports of defensive biting only). They don’t damage your home or cause significant damage to plants. They are, quite simply, annoying. (And gross—their feces leave stains on light colored surfaces, and smashing them releases an unpleasant odor.)
This annoying little pest likes your home. During the summer, they’ve been feeding and reproducing on the box elder trees in your neighborhood. As the weather turns colder in the fall and winter, they start seeking shelter from the cold, and they can enter your home by the thousands. (Yes, thousands!) Boxelder bugs can fly up to two miles to find a good location, and hopefully they don’t decide that their winter hotel is your house.
If you do find boxelder bugs inside your home, here are some tips to help control the infestation:
If you choose to try a pesticide, be sure to read the label and choose one with low toxicity. To be on the safe side, leave boxelder extermination to the professionals at Green Pest Control. They know exactly what they’re looking for and how to exterminate them safely. Then you can go back to being annoyed by the important things, like junk mail.