What is red and black all over — and trying to creep into many Central Albertan homes?
Hundreds of thousands of boxelder bugs are doing their darndest to sneak indoors this fall as nighttime temperatures plunge and winter approaches.
“Right now you can’t step outside my front door without squishing them,” said perturbed Penhold resident Janelle Wilson. She has lived in the same house for 16 years and never before witnessed this kind of onslaught.
So many boxelder bugs are now clinging to her front door that Wilson has learned to open it a bit and then slam it shut to have a “shower” of insects drop off before she quickly enters her house.
Before learning this trick, she would find boxelder bugs crawling in her hair.
The first red-eyed insects were noticed on the exterior walls of her family home just over a month ago. Wilson said she left them alone because “I don’t like to kill bugs that are just hanging out… I really regret that choice…”
Wilson figures she has so far used up about four spray bottles of soapy water to kill boxelder bugs on her door — only to return an hour later and see it covered with insects once again.
“Normally I don’t mind bugs but, oh man!,” she said. “When there are thousands and thousands of them, and they can crawl so fast and are clearly reproducing quickly, it is very creepy.”
These home invaders aren’t just making their presence known in leafy neighbourhoods in the Red Deer region, “they are also in Calgary and Edmonton — and all over the place,”said Todd Nivens, executive-director of the Waskasoo Environmental Education Society.
Anyone with a box elder tree (also known as a Manitoba maple, ash-leaved maple, elf maple, or maple ash) in their yard is likely dealing with a burgeoning bug population. Nivens said multitudes of boxelder bugs are now on the walls around the loading dock of the Kerry Wood Nature Centre because there is a Manitoba maple tree about 10 feet away.
The ‘why?’ of this population boom is a big unknown.
Some experts suggest it could be climate and food related — the hot, dry summer has stressed some trees, resulting in the over-production of the seeds these bugs live on, thereby expanding their population.
Whatever the reason, Nivens said the good news is these insects are harmless. They don’t sit on dung, like flies, so won’t bring bacteria into your home. And they don’t sting — although the occasional defensive bite has been noted.
In nature, they only do minor damage to trees. They don’t have a lot of predators because they aren’t good eating — emitting a foul smell when killed, which adds to their bad taste. Swallowing these bugs can cause pet vomiting, cautions the terro.com website.
If boxelder bugs do make it inside your home, you could humanely put them to death by freezing them. (Nivens said they will stain light-coloured furniture or rugs if squished).
Alternatively, you could sweep them up and throw them outside — but of course, there is the risk of them crawling inside again, added Nivens.
Wilson looks forward to winter, hoping a lot of them will die off with the cold.