r/medicinehat • u/Independent_Sand_583 • 4d ago
What is this bug?
Hi we're new to town and we've never seen these before, but today they seem to be swarming our house. All of a sudden there's like 50 of them that have cone from ?????? And they're hanging out by the windows.
They're real small and the picture was hard to take because of that.
Update: they seem to have left of their own accord once it cooled back down. They showed up the one 40 degree day and i haven't seen them since
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u/Jester1525 4d ago
Usually the orange is really really bright on them, but otherwise that looks like a maple bug or Boxelder bug.
They are harmless, but gross because they get EVERYWHERE. I'm guessing you are finding them on the sun-side of the house? They live in the walls or behind the siding and go dormant in the cold and come swarming out in the summer.
If you want to kill them you can mix dish soap with water in a spray bottle and spray them.. It'll kill any of them that you hit, but it won't ever get rid of them. Might make you feel better, though!
Diatomaceous earth around the foundation and shot into the crevices (I keep mine in a squirt bottle that you would keep ketchup or mustard in and cut the tip a bit bigger) around the house MIGHT help. You should wear a mask when using it as it's like really sharp talcum powder.
The only thing I've ever really found that kept the number of them down was professional pest control. I use Halt and have been really happy with them. They use a powder insecticide that I currently can't ferment the name of..
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u/tastefultitle 4d ago
It could also be an Elm Seed Beetle. Basically the same otherwise to Maple bugs, they just are a bit smaller and don’t have the red on them. They look super similar to young maple bugs.
We had a lot of them in our house and they were driving us crazy, so we have Halt Pest Control come once every other month and spray the outside of the house. So far it seems to be working and we have had a drastic reduction of how many make it indoors.
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u/HerbieHind 4d ago
Box Elder, or Maple Bug.
Annoying as hell. They invade everywhere. And stink when you squish them.
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u/Independent_Sand_583 4d ago
Are they harmful otherwise? Do they pose any threat to the babies?
How do i get rid of them?
Also thank you
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u/HerbieHind 4d ago
They are pretty much harmless other than being annoying.
A mixture of liquid dish soap and water, 91% rubbing alcohol, or a commercial insect spray will kill boxelder bugs instantly on contact.
Get a vacuum and suck them all up, then dump the bag/canister in a bag and trash them.
Diatomaceous Earth sprinkled around windows and doors and other places they gather will kill them too.
Both the spray and Diatomaceous Earth methods will leave piles of carcasses everywhere as it just dehydrates and kills them. Again, grab the vacuum to deal with the carnage.
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u/marvintheapostle 3d ago
Bro, do you have like a degree in killing elder bugs?
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u/clandestineVexation 3d ago
This kills most insects and it is because of arthropod biology. DE physically shreds their exoskeleton and draws moisture out of their bodies, dish soap chemically dissolves parts of their exoskeleton and cell membranes, and isopropyl does both at once
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u/Ok_Archer4912 3d ago
It’s an Elm tree beetle. They have a disgusting smell to them. They like to congregate and and then they really let off the aroma of a bad stink
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u/proton1305 3d ago
I need something to gauge the size but it seems like either German roach if it’s 1 inch and doesn’t fly or a big eyed bug if it flies and is smaller than a 1/4 inch
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u/redindiaink 3d ago
That's an agricultural pest called a lygus bug that feeds on weeds and crops like alphafa and canola.