What Exactly Is A Boxelder Bug?
Knowing what a boxelder bug looks like will help you identify a problem with these pests sooner rather than later. The boxelder bug's name helps to describe these unique insects. These pests spend most of the year outside feeding and breeding on boxelder trees and other seed-bearing trees like maple trees and plum trees.
Adult boxelder bugs are oval and about ½ an inch long. Their black bodies with red along the edges of their front wings make it easy to identify these insects. Boxelder bugs eat the sap from leaves and seeds of the tree they live on using their piercing, sucking mouthparts.
The good news is though boxelder bugs can take over in large numbers and be annoying to deal with, they don't cause significant damage. Also, boxelder bugs eat only when outside and won't contaminate your family's food. However, it is important to note that when these pests are squished, they will emit an unpleasant odor — having hundreds or thousands of these insects in your home can create an overwhelming smell.
Where You Are Most Likely To Discover Boxelder Bugs
During the spring, summer, and early fall, you will most likely discover boxelder bugs living outside on the trees they call home. In the late fall and winter seasons, you are likely to find boxelder bugs overwintering inside your home or other manufactured structures on your property.
When boxelder bugs are in your homes, you are most likely to find them congregating in the following areas:
- Attics
- Crawlspaces
- Wall voids
- Spaces behind windows and doors
- Under floors or behind cabinets
Why Are Boxelder Bugs Attracted To My Home?
It is important to understand why boxelder bugs are attracted to your home each fall to help you take the steps necessary to keep them out. When the weather becomes cooler in the late fall, boxelder bugs are attracted to the warm, sunny exterior of our homes and the exterior of other structures like garages and sheds. As they move along the exterior walls, they find their way inside through small cracks in the walls or spaces around windows or doors or cables and wires entering the house. Once they have found a way inside, boxelder bugs will stay because of the warm and safe hiding spots it provides.
Doing the following two things will help you to make your home less attractive to boxelder bugs:
- Cut tree branches back away from your home and cut back overgrown shrubbery.
- Make it as difficult as possible for boxelder bugs to move into your home. Weather-proof your house to seal the spaces that allow boxelder bugs and other insects to move indoors.
In addition to learning why boxelder bugs are attracted to your home, implementing regular pest control services through a residential pest control plan will help you guard your house against these unwanted intruders.
The Best Way To Stop Problems With Boxelder Bugs Is With The Help Of A Professional
Boxelder bugs are tricky to prevent because they move inside our homes through spaces you probably can't even see. The best way to get rid of boxelder bugs and prevent future problems with these nuisance pests is to partner with us at Aerex Pest Control.
Our professionals know what a boxelder bug looks like and will quickly identify how they are getting in and where they are hiding. We will then perform the effective treatments necessary to eliminate them. Then, by implementing a year-round residential pest control plan, you won't have to deal with these pests in the future. Call today to learn more about getting rid of boxelder bugs in Chicago!