To kill boxelder bugs you find in your house, spray them with Ortho® Home Defense® Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter following label directions. Then, remove the dead bugs since they may attract carpet beetles that will go on to attack fabrics, stored dry goods, and other natural products in your home.

Hemiptera

An identifying feature of boxelder and all other maples are their winged fruits (samaras). Boxelder is the only maple in Ohio with compound leaves. It reproduces by seeds, but it is also common for roots to produce sprouts if injured by fire or cutting.

Yards. Box elder bugs can be rather destructive to yards and gardens. They most commonly feed and reproduce on female box elder trees (hence their name) but they may also feed on maple, ash, and fruit trees. This can lead to fruit and leaf deformities and a yellow discoloration.

Box elder bugs do not have venom and cannot sting; however, there are some reports of boxelder bugs defending themselves by biting people when pressed against bare skin. Box elder bites are not known to cause any lasting effects in these incidents.

The boxelder is great for pollinators since its flowers bloom early. This tree is fantastic for preventing erosion near waterways in that it grows very well — and quickly — near streams and in wet soils. These maples lower their limbs with ease, which in turn provides shelter for small animals on the ground.

What Do Boxelder Bugs Look Like? Boxelder bugs are black with reddish or orange markings on their back. Adult boxelder bugs have a body shape that is a somewhat-flattened and elongated oval and is about half an inch long. Nymphs look similar to adults but lack wings and are bright red in color.

Although boxelder bugs are not typically recognized as biters, they do have the ability to pierce into skin, which makes the skin a bit irritated and results in a red spot that’s akin to a mosquito bite.

Their mating process actually takes hours, thus you see most of them stuck together while flying. They mate frequently in the summer season. Here’s the sad part (well, not really but roll with it) — the male love bug dies after mating and is dragged around by the female until she lays her eggs.

Generally, no. Boxelder bugs are mostly a nuisance pest. These bugs can bite. Their mouthpieces are designed to break through the skin of a fruit and are capable of piercing human skin, but they don’t generally care to bite humans.