The black and red cross pattern on the back of a box elder bug makes this insect easy to distinguish, and even more so when thousands swarm indoors seeking shelter from the winter cold. The invasion may look like the locust plague, but these critters are pretty harmless as disease vectors, content enough to usurp your space in the sunny side of the room. Still, if you threaten them off their perch, they squirt their droppings, leaving unsightly stains on your windows, furniture, or draperies.
About.com outlines how box elder bugs insinuate themselves inside your home, especially in autumn and winter.
“In the fall, you may see box elder bugs gathering in groups on sidewalks, walls, tree trunks, or other sunny locations. The insects congregate for warmth. Adult box elder bugs survive the winter by seeking shelter in protected locations, and your house may be the perfect place for them to stay warm. As winter approaches, the bugs make their way through any cracks or crevices in your home’s exterior.”
Box elder bugs feed on flowers and the sap of leaves, and especially on the seed pods of box elder trees, maple and ash trees. As you can’t get rid of the maple and box elder trees in your neighborhood to get the bugs out entirely, you can take preventive measures to control their innocuous but unwelcome home invasion.
Laundry soap mixture sprayed directly on the bugs offer a safer alternative to synthetic insecticides. Large-scale invasion in your Utah home, however, may require trained exterminators in Salt Lake City, such as Beeline Pest Control, to deal with the problem. When you see plant life slowly wilting, and tree leaves s blighted and drooping, that could be a telltale sign of the critters’ scourge.
Of course, for long-term containment, it is important to seal all potential entryways through which these bugs enter: Small openings in windows, under the door, through cracks in the siding walls, vents and under the eaves. To avoid annoying clean-ups from the mess these hibernating houseguests leave behind, consult your local Utah exterminator to provide the professional service you may need to keep your home bug-free.
(Article Information and Image from Why Do Box Elder Bugs Invade My House Each Fall, and What Do I Do About Them? About.com Insects)
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