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That bugs me...

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mrmhead On about 20 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#1New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 00:01:18
But to accept it, I've decided to change my hobby from Gardening to Bug Farming!

I grow some roses to raise my colony of Japanese Beetles.
I sacrifice my verbena to these little black caterpillar-bugs
My apple tree is to feed the nearby Yellow jacket and wasp hives later in the year. ... whatever the squirrels and deer don't take.

And now, for the first time this year, I present:
The Box Elder bug



WTF?!? This is the first year I have noticed them, and they are all over the place.

Maybe my neighbor has a box elder tree?

Now if only squirrels could grow an extra pair of legs, I could call them bugs too .... raised on my black walnuts.

So Cheers! to all the Bug Farmers out there!!
bobbimay On February 11, 2024




Tucson, Arizona
#2New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 12:15:45
@mrmhead Said

But to accept it, I've decided to change my hobby from Gardening to Bug Farming!

I grow some roses to raise my colony of Japanese Beetles.
I sacrifice my verbena to these little black caterpillar-bugs
My apple tree is to feed the nearby Yellow jacket and wasp hives later in the year. ... whatever the squirrels and deer don't take.

And now, for the first time this year, I present:
The Box Elder bug



WTF?!? This is the first year I have noticed them, and they are all over the place.

Maybe my neighbor has a box elder tree?

Now if only squirrels could grow an extra pair of legs, I could call them bugs too .... raised on my black walnuts.

So Cheers! to all the Bug Farmers out there!!



Ahh the joy of having female maple trees....

one thing you can do is to make sure you get all those maple seed..(the helicopter seeds)are cleaned up because that is their food source.
the only bug killer I have found that works on them is home defense I think orthro makes it...

if they are swarming this early wait until fall all the babies are grown you will swear that the sunny side of your house if black and red....

oh and BTW..they don't die in the winter..they just crawl into any crack they can find and come out when sunny.
chaski On about 8 hours ago
Stalker





Tree at Floydgirrl's Window,
#3New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 16:18:03
> Short response:

You are screwed in a mostly annoyance pest way.

> Longer response:

If you use insecticides, you will likely kill both the "good" and the "bad" insects And, there are good ones...read on...

You could try buying a bunch of preying mantis egg cases and Lady bugs (aka lady beetles, aka lady birds). The Manis will eat just about any other insect, and the Lady Bug will eat just about any thing small enough.

The upside is that they can both be "voracious" predators and (obviously) are natural, and both will also eat aphids and other insect pests in your garden...as in the box elder bugs and its nymphs.

The down side is that they eat what they want, which may or may not be your box elder bugs. That is, you could buy them, put them out, and have no results relative to your box elder bugs.

The Preying mantis don't stay in one place long, they are wayfarers. Though they typically will stick around if there is a lot of food. The Lady bugs will stick around, they are more "territorial".

The only down side of the Lady bug is that its larva looks crazy. However, it will eat aphids and other garden pests... and maybe the young box elder bugs as well.

Re the lady bugs....if you see any of these, don't kill them! The are good for your garden!

chaski On about 8 hours ago
Stalker





Tree at Floydgirrl's Window,
#4New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 16:49:06
Also.... check out this list of plants that help control pests.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pest-repelling_plants

Box elder bugs are not specifically noted, but I'd be willing to bet that marigolds and chrysanthemums would repel them to a point.
mrmhead On about 20 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#5New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 17:01:04
Thanks!
I do try to keep the chemicals to a minimum - with kids and pets around.
As well as what you said about killing good bugs too - and poisoning birds, etc up the chain

I have seen a few lady bugs around. But can't say I've seen those larvae or pupa. .. I never would have guessed they were related.

I've thought about buying more - esp for the verbena.
bobbimay On February 11, 2024




Tucson, Arizona
#6New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 17:36:42
@chaski Said

> Short response:

You are screwed in a mostly annoyance pest way.

> Longer response:

If you use insecticides, you will likely kill both the "good" and the "bad" insects And, there are good ones...read on...

You could try buying a bunch of preying mantis egg cases and Lady bugs (aka lady beetles, aka lady birds). The Manis will eat just about any other insect, and the Lady Bug will eat just about any thing small enough.

The upside is that they can both be "voracious" predators and (obviously) are natural, and both will also eat aphids and other insect pests in your garden...as in the box elder bugs and its nymphs.

The down side is that they eat what they want, which may or may not be your box elder bugs. That is, you could buy them, put them out, and have no results relative to your box elder bugs.

The Preying mantis don't stay in one place long, they are wayfarers. Though they typically will stick around if there is a lot of food. The Lady bugs will stick around, they are more "territorial".

The only down side of the Lady bug is that its larva looks crazy. However, it will eat aphids and other garden pests... and maybe the young box elder bugs as well.

Re the lady bugs....if you see any of these, don't kill them! The are good for your garden!




I live in farm country and the farmers around here use lady bugs instead of pesticides but it does not make a difference on the box elders...

maybe because the box elders are twice the size of lady bugs..???? just guessing.... but they do do a great job of keeping the "bad" bugs out of my garden

the "babies" always huddle into big warm piles on wood while growing up ...I have been known to do the old Mexican hat dance on them...I know mean of me ....but after 5 years of walking out my front door and having to dodge them...

I have yet to find anything.. besides a ready good late spring ice storm
that kills the leave before it grows... happened one year was a great summer and fall....that will get rid of them...

If anyone does know please please let me know.

I guess I could always cut down all my female maple trees...but no that is not an option.
chaski On about 8 hours ago
Stalker





Tree at Floydgirrl's Window,
#7New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 18:23:51
@bobbimay Said

I live in farm country and the farmers around here use lady bugs instead of pesticides but it does not make a difference on the box elders...

maybe because the box elders are twice the size of lady bugs..???? just guessing.... but they do do a great job of keeping the "bad" bugs out of my garden


I agree.

The best one could hope for, regarding lady bugs & box elders, is that the lady bugs might go after the nymphs which are pretty small.

(The "might" that I used is related to "if"....its a big "maybe" but probably not likely).

Even the praying mantis will ultimately have little effect when there are so many.

And, as you noted, "the "babies" always huddle into big warm piles on wood while growing up", which is not the normal hunting ground for either a lady bug nor a mantis.

The the box elder has a number of "relatives"...milkweed bug, mediterranean red bug, "cotton stainers", etc...all a pain in the ass...mostly harmless...but still a pain in the ass.

Still it might be worth a multi pronged try... mantis, lady bug, pest repellent plants...an obsessive chemical attack on all piles of dried wood and leaves....

But, again, the chemicals would kill good insects and spiders....which leads us back to the short answer: Being screwed in a mostly annoyance pest way.


Finally...I'm with you on the "If anyone does know please please let me know" part.
chaski On about 8 hours ago
Stalker





Tree at Floydgirrl's Window,
#8New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 18:59:37
As a side note:

We (well my girlfriend's home in California) have earwigs. The little nasties are everywhere. They sort of go away in the summer as it gets so hot and dry.

The do some good (eating aphids) and some bad (reportedly eating foliage, damaging some crops)...somewhat of a debate about their good vs bad...if you're into it.

For me they are an ugly annoyance...I'd rather hang out with scorpions...though they might "think" the same thing of me...except for the scorpion part.
mrmhead On about 20 hours ago




NE, Ohio
#9New Post! Jun 04, 2017 @ 21:44:00
@chaski Said

As a side note:

We (well my girlfriend's home in California) have earwigs. The little nasties are everywhere. They sort of go away in the summer as it gets so hot and dry.

The do some good (eating aphids) and some bad (reportedly eating foliage, damaging some crops)...somewhat of a debate about their good vs bad...if you're into it.

For me they are an ugly annoyance...I'd rather hang out with scorpions...though they might "think" the same thing of me...except for the scorpion part.


I hear earwigs are good bait for babel fish.
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