Comments on: Eastern Boxelder Bug

By: brenda Jo

brenda Jo — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:44:23 +0000

When I lived in Montana, I worked at a baitshop/gas station that also had cabins you could rent. One year there was a huge fish tournament going on at the same time as an all school class reunion. Real small town, not alot of motels, and the cabins had been rented a year ahead of time. One couple traveled clear from Florida, got there about 10:00 pm, pooped, and just wanted to crash in the cabin they rented. As I was closing up the store, they ran in to tell me the cabin was infested with cockroaches!! I knew we didn’t have those critters in the area, mainly ‘cuz it’s too flippin’ cold there in the winter, but they insisted! They wouldn’t stay there, and because of all the folks in for both doin’s, no place to stay less than 250 miles away! I felt so bad for them, but seein’ how they were from Florida, I couldn’t understand how they could not know the difference ‘tween a cockroach and a boxelder bug! Come to find out, those buggers would head back to that very cabin every year, and there was a buttload of them! I wouldn’t have been able to stay there, either!!! Even tho it’s close to halloween, this DID really happen, and I wonder if they are still fillin’ that cabin even as I write this!!!

By: brenda Jo

brenda Jo — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:23:01 +0000

when I was in ND, I saw these bugs in masse for the first time. I got clues from neighbors to place a bay leaf on the windowsills, cuz they don’t like them. It seemed to keep them out of the house!

By: anthony

anthony — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:38:09 +0000

get these discusta bugs out of my house im going crazy please help me!!!!!

By: G ANDERSON

G ANDERSON — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:05:46 +0000

I GUESS I WILL HAVE TO SELL THE HOUSE . I CANT GET RID OF THESE THINGS . THEY ARE IN MY BEDROOM . ALL OVER IN THE HOUSE . HELP PLEASE

By: Moe

Moe — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:34:24 +0000

They are out and about these days, aren’t they? I just put up a few pictures of one, too. Great shot.

By: Seri

Seri — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:38:01 +0000

Back when I was in high school, it was believed that boxelder bugs are what cause the striking red/pink stain in boxelder trees. People believed that the bugs got into the wood (not sure how), died, and left the pink stain.

Now of course, we are all a little smarter and know that its the tree itself that causes that color. But things were so much simpler when we could just blame (or thank) a little bug!

By: Lon

Lon — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:25:34 +0000

My co-workers learned the hard way not to squash them. They leave orange-red stains.

Since all they do is wander around harmlessly, I never saw the point of squashing them

By: GrannyJ

GrannyJ — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:42:12 +0000

We have their first cousins out here in the west (AZ mountains, to be specific) and I came across an interesting swarm site last year:

http://walkingprescott.blogspot.com/2007/08/buggy-mystery.html

By: Andy Kaiser

Andy Kaiser — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:13:55 +0000

Very interesting. My neighborhood always sees a big influx of these things every year, usually in the late summer. I’ve always wondered what they are. And now I know.