Prevention is a good way to keep boxelder bugs from moving into a house. Although they suck the plant juices while feeding, they are seldom abundant enough to harm the trees. These bugs do not damage the host plants. Minor hosts plants (plants from which they obtain food) include apple, ash, cherry, chinaberry, grape, peach ,plum, maple and western soapberry trees. Host Plantsīoxelder bugs feed primarily on the seeds of female boxelder trees. Occasionally on warm winter days, boxelder bugs move from their protected areas to sun themselves.
BOXELDER BUGS WINDOWS
Once inside, they move to the warm areas of the building and eventually move toward windows or other sunny areas. They prefer buildings with southern or western exposures.Īs the temperatures drop, the boxelder bugs move into tree holes, cracks and crevices around foundations, and walls, door and window casings. Large numbers of boxelder bugs are often seen congregating on houses or buildings. Although the nymphs are often present in the fall, usually only adults survive the winter.
In the fall, the adults and nymphs leave the trees they feed on and look for sheltered areas in which to spend the winter (overwinter). There may be two or more generations per year in Texas often several stages of nymphs and adults can be seen at the same time.
After about two weeks, the eggs hatch, and the nymphs develop into adults during the summer.
The females deposit eggs in the cracks and crevices of tree bark. In the spring when the weather begins to warm, boxelder bugs emerge and begin mating a few weeks later. Redshouldered bugs also can sometimes pose problems when they move indoors in the fall.įig. Redshouldered bugs, like boxelder bugs, feed on seeds of boxelder trees as well as the fruits of other trees. It is brownish gray with red eyes and red markings on the outside edges of the pronotum. It has reddish orange markings around the edges or the pronotum and abdomen. 3) is oval, bluish gray and about 1/2 inch long. Bugs that are often confused with boxelder bugs include largus bugs and redshouldered bugs. Several related species that look much like boxelder bugs may occur in large populations. The nymphs are bright red and develop black markings and wings as they mature (Fig. Immature stages, or nymphs, of boxelder bugs are shaped like the adults but are smaller and their wings are not fully developed. Red lines mark the lateral margins of the wings (Fig. The wings are folded over the back of the body, overlapping each other. They are dark brownish gray to black with distinctive red or orange markings consisting of three red lines running lengthwise on the pronotum (the area behind the head).
DescriptionĪdult boxelder bugs are about 1/2 inch long and 1/3 inch wide. If many of them move into a home, they can stain the walls, curtains, furniture and other surfaces with their excrement. In the fall when the temperatures drop, these bugs move to protected areas such as under shingles or siding, around doors and windows or in cracks and crevices in foundations.īoxelder bugs may become a nuisance when they enter homes or other structures seeking shelter. Boxelder bugs, Boisea trivittatus, and other closely related insects are found throughout most of Texas and feed on several kinds of trees.