Box elder bugs
- Thread starter kindone
- Start date
Green Inferno
Active Member
I hate those things. We get them every year outside on our trees (actual trees, not cannabis), they get inside all the time.
How to get rid of them? I wish I knew.
Pimpernickel
Well-Known Member
They don't eat weed.
ChubbySoap
Well-Known Member
a fast-acting synthetic pyrethroid like Cyzmic CS and Demon WP helps to manage them....but you kinda need to apply it in the early fall before they get in....
late fall doesn't work out since their metabolisms are to slow by that time for anything to do any good...
the only other solution is pure preventative maintenance...seal your foundations, grout up cracks, replace screens (don't forget your eves), door jambs, utility service holes, vents, and roof
late fall doesn't work out since their metabolisms are to slow by that time for anything to do any good...
the only other solution is pure preventative maintenance...seal your foundations, grout up cracks, replace screens (don't forget your eves), door jambs, utility service holes, vents, and roof
ChubbySoap
Well-Known Member
the house hold vacuum and dust buster comes in handy...
Winter Woman
Well-Known Member
They don't bite and they don't hurt a thing. Let the birds eat them.
LordWinter
New Member
I used to deal with these things in hordes when I had an apartment in Bristol, VA, but lol, I'd never chop a tree just to get rid of an occasional non-destructive bug infestation. The only nuisance factor to them is their sheer numbers. Here's a good article about the bugs: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG0998.html
As a side note, the only insecticides we use in our house are the packages of ant baits to combat the carpenter ants that are so plentiful here in MI. I know this is gonna rub a lot of you the wrong way due to phobias, but for those of you with indoor grows who can stomach the "creepy crawlies", but if you let your house spiders and house centipedes (not the red ones but the gray/whitish, fuzzy-looking ones with the long legs that skitter all around the room day and night) do their job and don't kill them, even fruit flies will never become a major problem.
Now, I know a lot of you are going to wonder how I can say this when I am not a pest control specialist, so let me tell you a little about my qualifications... I've been an arachnoculturist for over 10 years now, at one point having kept over 500 (close to $10k worth of stock there) different tarantulas spread across about 12 different species. Tarantulas, being spiders, are very sensitive to most insecticides, and are VERY expensive for some of the harder to acquire species (Mexican Red Knee, for example... one of the most beautiful and THE most easily recognizable tarantula (think.. Black and Orange Halloween spider). Adult females sell for $300+ and live for up to 30 years or more), so pesticides have never been an option for me and I've been forced to learn to cooperate with nature, even if it means extra cobwebs around my home.
So believe me, in an area where Black Widows are non-existent and Brown Recluses are very rare (EXTREMELY scarce north of the Ohio state line), you're going to be hard pressed to wind up with anything dangerous in your house if you skip the Orkin man and let nature do the work for you.
For those of you who don't believe me about the Black Widow and Brown Recluse status in MI, read the following guide on Michigan spider species: http://michiganspiders.blogspot.com
I really can't stress enough that insects really are our friends. We don't get overwhelmed by pests in the home until we go on an insecticide fueled rampage and destroy the beneficial residents along with the pests. In those cases, the pests are usually the ones to come back first, as the rest won't return in quantity until there's an available food supply.
We should all be more aware of our surroundings and the creatures that we share our lives with on a daily basis. With that said, know that even someone as adamant as myself about keeping beneficial species in the home will NEVER fault you for "cleaning house" so-to-speak, in the event of a serious infestation of something like Cockroaches, Termites, and Carpenter Ants, just to name a few of the more "horde-like" pests. Sometimes, the only thing you CAN do is to just kill everything and let your home "ecology" reset itself.
As a side note, the only insecticides we use in our house are the packages of ant baits to combat the carpenter ants that are so plentiful here in MI. I know this is gonna rub a lot of you the wrong way due to phobias, but for those of you with indoor grows who can stomach the "creepy crawlies", but if you let your house spiders and house centipedes (not the red ones but the gray/whitish, fuzzy-looking ones with the long legs that skitter all around the room day and night) do their job and don't kill them, even fruit flies will never become a major problem.
Now, I know a lot of you are going to wonder how I can say this when I am not a pest control specialist, so let me tell you a little about my qualifications... I've been an arachnoculturist for over 10 years now, at one point having kept over 500 (close to $10k worth of stock there) different tarantulas spread across about 12 different species. Tarantulas, being spiders, are very sensitive to most insecticides, and are VERY expensive for some of the harder to acquire species (Mexican Red Knee, for example... one of the most beautiful and THE most easily recognizable tarantula (think.. Black and Orange Halloween spider). Adult females sell for $300+ and live for up to 30 years or more), so pesticides have never been an option for me and I've been forced to learn to cooperate with nature, even if it means extra cobwebs around my home.
So believe me, in an area where Black Widows are non-existent and Brown Recluses are very rare (EXTREMELY scarce north of the Ohio state line), you're going to be hard pressed to wind up with anything dangerous in your house if you skip the Orkin man and let nature do the work for you.
For those of you who don't believe me about the Black Widow and Brown Recluse status in MI, read the following guide on Michigan spider species: http://michiganspiders.blogspot.com
I really can't stress enough that insects really are our friends. We don't get overwhelmed by pests in the home until we go on an insecticide fueled rampage and destroy the beneficial residents along with the pests. In those cases, the pests are usually the ones to come back first, as the rest won't return in quantity until there's an available food supply.
We should all be more aware of our surroundings and the creatures that we share our lives with on a daily basis. With that said, know that even someone as adamant as myself about keeping beneficial species in the home will NEVER fault you for "cleaning house" so-to-speak, in the event of a serious infestation of something like Cockroaches, Termites, and Carpenter Ants, just to name a few of the more "horde-like" pests. Sometimes, the only thing you CAN do is to just kill everything and let your home "ecology" reset itself.
LordWinter
New Member
LMAO! Me, my wife, and our daughter, actually find them to be cute little buggers, but then again, I do have a strange eye when it comes to aesthetics. I also noticed that you said brown, did it have a fuzzy or a shiny appearance? I've noticed that the house centipedes can range into the brown hues, but they are NEVER shiny, keep that in mind. House centipedes also rarely bite, whereas, their outdoor counterparts will pop you in a second if you disturb them.
LordWinter
New Member
@zzyx
Why would you even CONSIDER chopping a tree over box elder bugs when they aren't even damaging to the tree? Especially when its NOT the only way to get rid of them. Cyfluthrin and other pyrethrin-based insecticides take care of them just fine. Read the article I linked, it gives a lot of options for getting them off houseplants, and also stresses that they RARELY damage ANYTHING but stain-able surfaces... and that is WITH THEIR POOP! It just boggles my mind how people freak out over every single insect that comes into their grow.
@kindone
Yeah, they're definitely speedy little things, but virtually harmless. Just remember, these guys like dark, damp places to hide... places where smaller pests like silverfish and cockroach nymphs LOVE to hide, too... and house centipedes are carnivorous.
Oh, and love that avatar, kindone. Oberon ale is goooooooood stuff!
Why would you even CONSIDER chopping a tree over box elder bugs when they aren't even damaging to the tree? Especially when its NOT the only way to get rid of them. Cyfluthrin and other pyrethrin-based insecticides take care of them just fine. Read the article I linked, it gives a lot of options for getting them off houseplants, and also stresses that they RARELY damage ANYTHING but stain-able surfaces... and that is WITH THEIR POOP! It just boggles my mind how people freak out over every single insect that comes into their grow.
@kindone
Yeah, they're definitely speedy little things, but virtually harmless. Just remember, these guys like dark, damp places to hide... places where smaller pests like silverfish and cockroach nymphs LOVE to hide, too... and house centipedes are carnivorous.
Oh, and love that avatar, kindone. Oberon ale is goooooooood stuff!
sheapdog420
Active Member
I'd cut the tree down just to use it for fire wood. Two problems solved with one cut; bugs gone, heat for winter.
Green Inferno
Active Member
This is the bush in the front of my house:
I smited them with dish soap water.
I smited them with dish soap water.
Jackp0t08
Active Member
Insane!This is the bush in the front of my house:
I smited them with dish soap water.
We get a lot of these in my house. They seem to crawl in through any crack to escape the cold in the winter. They aren't harmful, just annoying.
I unfortunately dont have any tips for getting rid of them. We have went through my house and sealed up every crack we could find and they still find their way in.
We usually just vacuum them up though.