Comments for black and red insect (Boxelder bug)
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black and red insect (Boxelder bug)

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boxelder bugs
by: Moni

Tamara
Thanks for sharing such a great story!
Great that your Grandma was such a good influence.
Happy gardening!
their "nickname"
by: Tamara in Oregon

Boxelder bugs always make me smile. When I was a very small kid I lived next to my beloved Grandma who had a great garden. (I am a chip off her block.) She had a Swedish accent and as I had never heard of "boxelder" I thought she was calling them "bug cellar bugs." :-) lol
Boxelder bugs
by: Moni

Anonymous
The best way to get rid of them is with a small shop vacuum sweeper. If you use your good household sweeper it might end up smelling from a large number of these bugs. Being in the true bug (Hemiptera) order, these bugs many times smell when smashed.
A shop vac works well inside and out. Suck up the boxelder bugs and then dump them in a plastic bag and seal it. You can then throw it in the trash or let them die, dig a small hole in the ground and bury them...making compost. :-)

The same can be done with the Asian lady beetles that also collect on the southern outside of our homes and then manage to come in for the winter.
Ugly bugs
by: Anonymous

These bugs are very annoying. In the fall they were all over the outside of my house, and now that it has been nice the past couple of days they are back on the house and in my house. Do you know how to get rid of them?
Boxelder bug
by: Moni

This photo is of the boxelder bug adult and if the other black and red insect was nearby then it is the young or nymph. Sometimes a bug in the young stage makes it hard to tell different species apart. As expected they feed on boxelder trees, rarely causing any economic problem. They can somtimes be observed feeding on ash, maple, plum, cherry, apple, peach, grape and strawberries, where they can damage the fruit. They are known to be pests in the fall as they accumulate on the sides of homes. They also seem to manage to come inside in the fall also...which is a nuisance. The time spent in or on our homes they are not causing a problem.

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