Les Jones

Smash Kill Box Elder Bugs!

Don't know if you have it in your neck of the woods, but the other bane I had to contend with at my last house was bindweed, aka wild morning glory.

Both it an the evil Box Elder Bug are like the Energizer Bunny. I'd've used a small tactical nuke if I could have gotten my hands on one.

Glad to hear we're not the only ones. We have them pretty bad here.

That box elder bug in the picture was actually in a trap on a vineyard in Sonoma. They must emerge at about the same time in comparable temperature zones east and west.

The worst thing about them for us is that we have one of those giant massive-fire-hazard halogen lamps.

When the box-elder bugs come, it serves dual duty as a bug-zapper.

A slow, merciless smoking stink-factory bug-zapper.

NUCLEAR PHYSICISTS USE ASTOUNDING COMPARISONS TO MAKE CLEAR THE NATURE OF INFINITE NUMBERS
An adult male Norwegian
weighs as much as
two and a half billion
boxelder bugs.
Is it any surprise that
there are more boxelder bugs
than Norwegians?
Imagine a planet in which
Norwegians crawled up
and down your kitchen walls
by the thousands, hid
under the warm coffee pot,
fell like discolored noodles out
of the noodle bags where they slept;
after the blizzards started,
you would find Norwegians
dried inside light fixtures, Norwegians
clogging up the vacuum cleaner,
Norwegians floating in
cups of lukewarm coffee.

TO CONTINUE EMERSON'S ESSAYS NATURE AND THE POET
Nature is thrifty; wastes nothing.
There is always the right number
of boxelder bugs, in the right
places. The poet's eye should be
likewise economical. Let him
cease complaining that the world
is without objects fit to become
his subject. He could live two
centuries and not exhaust a
boxelder bug, seen right. The
question is always and only how
quickly a single boxelder bug
would exhauset himself on the
whole tribe of poets.

HOW THEY DIE
They dry up,
turn into light.

-- Bill Holm
from Boxelder Bug Variations

oh, and this too, for Jed:

A LADY FROM MONTEVIDEO DESCRIBES HER STRUGGLE WITH BOXELDER BUGS
It started with cold war;
Now we've moved to detente --

The poet recommends surrender.
Then joy.

We live outside of Omaha, Nebraska and have been overrun with those pesky Box Elder bugs this year. We just had our house completely re-sided and all new windows, gutters/downspouts, roofing, and doors installed as well. We have NEVER had this bad of a problem! We killed thousands of them in about 20 minutes by using our power-washer with 1 cup of Tide powder and 3 tablespoons of Dawn dish detergent liquid in a 1/2 gallon container filled 3/4s of the way with water. Mostly, what we learned is that our Silver Maple tree is in the same family as the Box Elder Tree. Unfortunately, we get such awesone shade from the trees that we can't just cut them down to get rid of the harmless bug.
Anybody else have any solutions for Vinyl siding? Can we caulk it?

You can kill the bugs with a mix of about three-quarters cup dish soap and a gallon of water.

For long-term indoor and outdoor control, a clear latex paint containing microencapsulated chlorpyrifos, an effective insecticide that kills most insects and spiders, can be painted around doors, window frames, baseboards, and threshholds. The insecticide remains in the latex base until an insect or spider crawls over the surface; because the active ingredient is contained inside polymers, which are dissolved by the enzymes in the mucus on insects’ feet, according to the manufacturer, the insecticide is absorbed directly into the insect and children and pets are not exposed to the insecticide or it’s vapors. The product can remain effective 2-5 years indoors, and 1-2 years outdoors. This can provide a least-toxic alternative. I know of only one source for this product; Marketing Labs Inc., in Ackron, Ohio, at 800/366- 5595. For outdoor use only, a similar product containing microencapsulated diazinon is locally available; you mix the diazinon with latex paint yourself.

If you have a severe problem with boxelder bugs every year, and feel you just don't want to tolerate them, you may want to consider removal of the female box elder trees. Male trees do not attract these bugs, and when boxelder trees are planted, males should be selected. You can distinguish between male and female trees in spring and fall: In spring, both have blossoms, but blossoms of male trees are corymbs (upright, small, with a branching effect similar to that of an umbrella); blossoms of female trees are racemes (long and slender, hanging down). In fall, only the female trees produce seeds, the type called samara or keys, similar in appearance to the paired “whirlybird” seeds of maple. The clusters of seeds on female trees remain attached in winter.

Another deterrent is to spray WD-40 around windows and other entryways.

Ted Swensen
Joanie Cooper has been bugging me for some time to find a way to control box elder bugs. These are the ones with the red edge to their wings and which congregate in the fall around most buildings.

Note color of the building they migrate to and then paint some old plywood, poster board or similar material with a similar color (yellow or white work well) and coat it with petroleum jelly, tanglefoot, or some very sticky material. Place the trap where ever the box elder bugs are swarming. Place similar traps wherever box elder bugs are trying to get inside buildings. When your traps are full just scrape the box elder bugs off and recoat the trap.

A home remedy to get rid of box elder bugs–30% dish soap and 70% water in a spray bottle. The spray is a contact poison and will kill box elder bugs.

Place nontoxic diatomaceous earth or boric acid powder in the cracks and crevices around your home to prevent box elder bugs from entering. To be effective these material should remain dry.

Diatomaceous earth: Food grade Diatomaceous Earth is an abrasive powder made from the mineral remains of singlecelled aquatic algae. It is like glass slivers and kills by abrading and dehydrating crawling insects.

Another deterrent is to spray WD-40 around windows and other entryways.

Why do box elder bugs come into our buildings? Because our buildings mimic the caves, tree cavities, or other protected spaces where the insects normally congregate to overwinter.

Good Luck!

Adjust or install tight-fitting door sweeps or thresholds at the bottom of all exterior entry doors. Gaps of 1/8" or less will permit entry of insects. Garage door bottoms should be fitted with a bottom seal constructed of rubber (vinyl seals poorly in cold weather). Gaps under sliding glass doors may be sealed with foam weatherstripping.
Seal utility openings where pipes and wires enter the foundation and siding, e.g., around outdoor faucets, receptacles, gas meters, clothes dryer vents, and telephone/cable TV wires. Holes can be plugged with caulk, cement, urethane foam, steel wool, or copper mesh.
Caulk cracks around windows, doors, siding, and facia boards. Use a good quality silicone or siliconized acrylic latex caulk. Although somewhat less flexible than pure silicone, siliconized latex-type caulks clean up with water and are paintable. Caulks that dry clear are easier to use than pigmented ones because they cover mistakes.

Hey thanks for the info on box elder bugs! I have been swarmed today. And this is the first year they have been here. It is spooky. But it is NOT the first year for the wild morning glory!!!!
It is everywhere! It seems to grown overnight and choke all my other plants and shrubs. Yesterday I even found it growing up into my young gorgeous willow tree. Please help someone! I love flowers but this is ridiculous.

Here in Minnesnowta!!! the boxelders have been out almost all summer. I've found that using a garden feeder filled with dishsoap or laundry soap-(liquids) then connected to your garden hose with the water on full blast kills them critters dead!

We do not have any box elder trees around our home but we do have lots of those black colour bugs with the red on the wings. Was told Malathion Plus will kill these bugs. I suppose if you would drown them in the fluid it will kill the bugs. I sprayed Malathion Plus on the exterior of my home. The bugs return but the black flies are gone. Bill

to get rid of those stupid box elder bugs...
find a old spray bottle and fill it with 30% dawn dish soap and 70% H2O (WATER) spray it all over those annoying pests, they will all sufficate and die in about sixty seconds!!!!

to get rid of those stupid box elder bugs...
find a old spray bottle and fill it with 30% dawn dish soap and 70% H2O (WATER) spray it all over those annoying pests, they will all sufficate and die in about sixty seconds!!!!

to get rid of those stupid box elder bugs...
find a old spray bottle and fill it with 30% dawn dish soap and 70% H2O (WATER) spray it all over those annoying pests, they will all sufficate and die in about sixty seconds!!!!

Iam glad I hit this thread! We just re-sided and put in new foamboard insulation, now we are infested with these bugs. White vinyl siding and trim. I have learned that my giant silver maple is attracting them, they mistake it for an elder tree. Anyone else have any experience with this? They should make a beetle trap for these things.

Iam glad I hit this thread! We just re-sided and put in new foamboard insulation, now we are infested with these bugs. White vinyl siding and trim. I have learned that my giant silver maple is attracting them, they mistake it for an elder tree. Anyone else have any experience with this? They should make a beetle trap for these things.

For Box Elder bugs, I've read both liquid laundry detergent AND Dawn type dish soap. I said what the heck and put both in. I have thousands of dead bugs now. However, be sure to coat them well, about 15% I had to go back over. Good thing is, the stuff is cheap!