Get Rid of Boxelder Bugs

Boxelder bugs, while not dangerous, can be a nuisance. If they enter your home in large numbers, they can ruin curtains, carpets, and clothing with their excrement. In addition, if they get into the vents of your home, such as those for furnaces or other appliances, they can cause serious mechanical problems. To avoid these problems, learn how to reduce their numbers, and hopefully to get rid of them completely, and how to prevent them from congregating around your home in the first place.[1]

Steps

Removing Boxelder Bugs

  1. Pick them up by hand. This is a safe, although labor-intensive, way of removing them. You can simply put on a pair of gloves and grab the bugs individually. Boxelder bugs do not bite or sting, so there is no risk of injury or pain. You do need to have quick reflexes, as these bugs can move pretty quickly. [2]
    • Be sure not to squish the bugs while you pick them up. Squished boxelder bugs can give off a noxious smell, which you don't want in your home.
  2. Sweep them up. If you don't want the close contact required of picking the bugs up by hand, you can just use a broom to sweep them up or out the door. Be careful and sweep them up gently, as squishing them with your broom can release a bad smell.
    • Boxelder bugs that you remove from your house can be placed back outside if you don't want to kill them. This method does run the risk that the same bugs will reenter your house in the future.
  3. Use a vacuum to get rid of them. The easiest way to get rid of the bugs that are in your house is to use a vacuum to suck them up. This requires you to have a vacuum out and ready to use when you see a boxelder bug.[3]
    • Be sure to empty out your vacuum bag or canister quickly after sucking up bugs. You can either deposit the bag directly into the garbage (knowing that some of the bugs are still alive inside the bag) or place it in the freezer overnight to kill the bugs.
    • If you freeze the bugs to death, you can then take the vacuum bag out of the freezer and continue to use the same bag in your vacuum.[4]
  4. Kill the bugs. You can kill boxelder bugs if you need to. This can be done by spraying a mixture of soap and water directly onto the bugs. This mixture, made of five tablespoons of laundry soap mixed into one gallon of water, only works when the soap mixture is wet and applied directly to the bugs, so it may need to be reapplied if new bugs emerge.[5]
    • You should not use insecticide if the boxelder bugs are in your house. First of all, insecticides are poison and bringing poison into your house can create a health risk to you, your family, and your pets. Secondly, killing boxelder bugs in your house, and not knowing where the dead bugs are, can attract other bugs that eat the carcasses.[6]

Blocking Access

  1. Seal any cracks into your home. The main way that boxelder bugs enter homes is through cracks in walls, flooring, roofing, etc. Thus, a cheap and effective way of combating them is to make sure that all such cracks are sealed.[2]
    • For homes with plaster, stucco, stone, or brick veneer exteriors, check the outside walls for significant cracks. Especially check places where different materials meet, or where horizontal and vertical surfaces meet.
    • Use caulking suitable for outside locations and the surface you are applying it to to seal these cracks.
    • For stone or brick veneer, do not seal the weep holes with caulk, as they allow moisture to drain. Instead, use a bug screen or other solution that is sold at your local hardware store.[7]
  2. Make sure screens are in place. Boxelder bugs can easily come in through open windows without screens. If you want to have your windows open, be sure you have screens covering the entire opening area.
    • Make sure that all screens on windows and doors are completely sealed. Boxelder bugs can fit through very small holes (about 1/8 of an inch).
    • Also check that there are screens on all vents, including kitchen and bathroom fans, as well as roof and soffit vents.[7]
  3. Seal spaces where cables, wires, pipes, or any other object enters the house from outside. You can use materials such as silicone, polyurethane, or copper mesh for this purpose. If using mesh, make sure there are no gaps for the bugs to fit through. You may need to research to see which caulking material is best for your specific purpose.[7]
  4. Install door sweeps or thresholds. These should be put on all doors that open to the outside. This will prevent bugs from entering underneath doors. Filling the space between the floor and the bottom of the door can be done by either attaching a door sweep to the bottom of the door or adding a threshold to the floor beneath the door.[8]
    • For a door sweep, you usually attach a strip that is specially designed for this use to the bottom, inside edge of the door with screws or some form of adhesive. The length of the strip should be the same width as your door.
    • A threshold is added by screwing it to the floor under the door. Be careful, however, because a threshold can be a tripping hazard.

Deterring Boxelder Bugs Outside Your Home

  1. Remove boxelder, maple, and ash trees. This is an extreme measure to be taken only in drastic circumstances. These trees provide food and a place for reproduction for the bugs. If they are not near your house, your house is less likely to be infested with boxelder bugs.
    • Removing the trees that boxelder bugs feed on is not a particularly effective solution, since boxelder bugs can travel more than a mile in search of winter shelter. So, removing the trees on your property will not ensure that your home does not become infested.
    • If boxelder bugs become a major problem in your community, you may consider organizing at a community-wide level. However, boxelder bug infestations are usually only widespread in particularly warm years. It is best to use the methods described above to combat the bugs and to avoid the drastic measure of removing trees from your local habitat.
    • Boxelder bugs reproduce on female boxelder trees. Removing these trees specifically may be the most effective tree removal process for limiting the bug's numbers near your home.[3]
  2. Cover areas on the exterior of your home with soapy water. This is a temporary solution that will keep the bugs off your house until the water dries up. Boxelder bugs do not like soap, and it can even kill them if they are covered with it completely. Applying soapy water with a sprayer or with a sponge can deter them from specific areas, such as near vents or openings that you want to keep them away from.
    • Boxelder bugs like to congregate on the sunny side of homes.[4] This is a good place to focus on when applying soapy water.
  3. Use insecticides outside. It is best to avoid this step, if possible, because insecticides can cause insects beyond just boxelder bugs to die. However, it may become necessary to use them in extreme circumstances. Visit your local hardware store or nursery to find an appropriate pesticide. Common active ingredients for fighting boxelder bugs include bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, lambda cyhalothrin, permethrin, and tralomethrin. There are a number of things to keep in mind when using insecticides:[7]
    • Always follow the directions on the label.
    • Avoid using insecticides indoors. This can damage the inside of your house and is not as effective as using them on the outside.
    • Spray during late summer and early fall. This is the time when boxelder bugs are on the move from their summer homes to their winter shelter. Your efforts will be most effective if you spray at this time.
    • Focus on the spots where boxelder bugs are most likely to enter or to congregate. These include the openings and cracks in your home, as well as areas that receive a lot of sunlight.
    • Be observant. If you notice that there is one spot around your home where boxelder bugs tend to congregate, spray that spot. While some may already have entered at that spot, you can prevent more from coming into your home in the coming days.

Tips

  • Boxelder bugs do not lay eggs inside homes. They only lay eggs on boxelder trees, which is done in summer. They will come into your home in the winter, however, to take shelter and wait out poor weather.[3]

Warnings

  • Take great care in using chemical insecticides. Always follow the instructions on the label, and do not spray insecticides indoors or near food or water sources.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/boxelder-bug10.pdf
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://npic.orst.edu/pest/boxelder.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/boxelder-bugs-5-522/
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxO4wG2XhwM&feature=player_embedded
  5. ↑ https://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/2006/fs0684.pdf
  6. ↑ http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/boxelder-bug
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/boxelder-bugs/
  8. ↑ http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/residential/tightenup/weatherstrip.html

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