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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Bugged?

That’s what Grenville and I were last week at The Frog & PenguINN.
Nope, we weren’t stumped by anything. BUT, we had an invasion of Boisea trivittatus.

WHAT’S THAT?
Boxelder bugs – and these pests don’t live in boxes and are not old (as far as we know).
A boxelder bug is about 1/2 inch long as an adult, and quite colorful – black with three red lines on the thorax (the part just behind the head), a red line along each side, and a diagonal red line on each wing. Color notwithstanding, they were still unwelcome visitors at the F&P.
elder bug1elder bug2
Boxelder bugs are nuisance pests that like to hang out in large groups while catching the sun’s rays. They do not bite humans and are basically harmless to property. But beware NOT to crush them indoors as they will stain walls, rugs, curtains and other surfaces. The GOOD NEWS is that their life span is short; they survive for a few days up to a week, do not cause significant damage to homes or plants and are not considered to be agricultural pests – good news for a mini-farm (like ours).

Last week, Grenville discovered a large group sunning outside the F&P B near the back patio, which gets LOTS of sun. If they had stayed outdoors, all would have been well, but some strayed indoors. As the weather cools, these bugs push into cracks and spaces and remain inactive inside the walls (or behind siding) while the weather is cool. 
They can also be found around windows.

So, they had to go, but Who ya gonna call? – NOT Ghostbusters, but BUG-B-GONE. 

bug-b-gone032211 (3)We’ve used this local company for the past few years. It’s run by a very nice fellow who is meticulous and careful when spraying around our 1906 home

Now that  nothing is bugging us (at least for today), we were wondering . . .

Anything bugging you?

8 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

Oh, my. Well, no bugs here bothering us yet, but when summer comes, the bugs are very happy in our garden.

You won't believe this, but my security word for this comment is "bugmach." Go figure. ;)

grammie g said...

Hi Beatrice...I sure am glad that you got rid of those pesky little "Boisea trivittatus"!!
There is not enough time I believe to go into all the things that are bugging me, so I'll sign of for now.lol

Connie said...

Ugh to the bugs. Glad you got them taken care of. Nothing is bugging me today. It's going to be a good day! :D

Montanagirl said...

We get invaded by those pesky little critters too. No matter how careful we are about keeping them out of the house, they always manage to get in - sometimes on our clothing I think.

Anvilcloud said...

Titch early for bugs here, but it won't be long.

Eggs In My Pocket said...

It's that time of year! We have a round of different things at different times. We have good things, like the yellow headed blackbirds that will be here in a couple of weeks, in August the butterflys stop by on their way to New Mexico,......but then like last summer, we had large ants swarm our home......and we have the dreaded killer bees. sigh......never a dull moment! Have a great week. blessings,Kathleen

Out on the prairie said...

They can startle one when they crawl across the floor. I spray soap and they leave.

You asked about cameras, I shoot all Sony, I have lots of their electronics.I use mostly a 20X point and shoot and a Alpha 300 DSLR.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

After Bug-B-Gone came this week, we don't expect any more indoor unwelcome visits. It does seem early in the season for nuisance pests like these. We know the ants will be coming next as they always do once the temps really warm up.

LOIS, that security word was so appropriate for this post.

AC, sometimes being in colder temps has advantages.

GRAMMIE G, feel free to rant another time about what's buggin you.

DAISY, good for you!

KATHLEEN, we do expect the ants will return and as soon as we see them on the back patio we know it's time to call our Bug-G-Gone "friend." One visit from him was all it took last year after tiny grease ants invaded the kitchen walls. They come up through the walls and outlets since we have no foundation. I've never seen yelow-headed blackbirds and maybe you will feature them on your blog sometime.

STEVE, we did read that soap would work, but didn't want to spray it inside on the wood floor, so opted for a perimater and foundation spraying of insecticide. Thanks for the camera info. I heard Sony makes some good photo products. I use their MP3 walkman and have one of their small bookcase stereo units.