Boxelder bug
- Behind the head
- Three red-orange stripes
- Wings
- Red-orange edges
- Size
- About half an inch
- Where you find it
- Houses in fall; boxelder, maple and ash trees in summer
Specimen 07 · Boisea trivittata
Updated
Kansas pesticide business license #3403
Boxelder bugs on Wichita houses
Boxelder bugs come into houses in fall, looking for a place to spend the winter. Donnie gets calls about them for a month or two a year.
Opens your messages. Donnie replies the same day, Mon–Fri 8–5.
Inside
Warm winter daysPrice
$125–165 a visitHow do I know it's a boxelder bug?
The young look different from the adults.
4checks
Size · Stripes · Young · Wings
* Pins 2 to 4 mark red or red-orange: the eyes and stripes, the young, and the wing edges.
About half an inch, and black
With reddish-orange markings on the wings, behind the head and on the mouthparts.
Red eyes, red stripes
Prominent red eyes, and three bold red-orange stripes on the area behind the head.
The young are red
Nymphs are the same shape, but smaller and without full wings. Bright red when they hatch, they turn red and black as they grow.
Red-orange edges on the wings
Bold margins around the front wings, with thinner veins inside them. The red-shouldered bug, the look-alike, has no red on its wings.
Red-shouldered bug
- Behind the head
- A single red line on each shoulder
- Wings
- No red on the wings; red only along the abdomen's edges
- Size
- About the same, so size won't tell them apart
- Where you find it
- Mainly on golden rain trees
Sources: K-State Research and Extension, Household Pests of Kansas (MF3291) and Boxelder and Red-Shouldered Bugs (MF2580); University of Minnesota Extension; Colorado State University.
Are boxelder bugs harmful?
Bites and stings
None. They don't bite or sting, and don't carry disease (MF3291)
The house
No damage to the structure, fabric or stored food (MF2580)
The trees
Their feeding does little harm to trees and plants (MF3291)
They don't breed in the house (Iowa State, University of Minnesota). They can smell bad, and leave a stain when crushed.
Sources: K-State Research and Extension, Household Pests of Kansas (MF3291) and MF2580; Iowa State University Extension; University of Minnesota Extension.
Seen them?
Text Donnie a photo.
It tells him whether it's something to jump on or not a concern at all.
Take a clear photo of a few of them, with a coin beside them for size if you can.
Opens your messages. Donnie replies the same day, Mon–Fri 8–5.
Why are boxelder bugs all over my house?
- 01
Spring
Large numbers come out of their winter spots in spring to find mates, and head for trees up to 2 miles away.
- 02
Summer
Two generations a year, feeding on boxelder, maple, ash and many other plants.
- 03
Fall
By mid-October, adults gather on the sunny south and west sides of houses for the warmth, and work in through cracks and openings.
- 04
Warm winter days
The ones already spending the winter in the walls and attic wake up, wander into rooms and gather at light fixtures.
Around Wichita
Calls for a month or two
That's how long the season runs for Donnie.
“Rain tree bugs”
Some people around Wichita call these rain tree bugs. Donnie usually finds a golden rain tree nearby.
The golden rain tree bug
The red-shouldered bug, a look-alike, feeds mainly on golden rain trees (MF3291). K-State says it is sometimes called the “goldenrain tree bug” (MF2580). The two behave the same way and are handled the same way, so you don't need to tell them apart before you call.
Sources: Donnie Aaron; K-State Research and Extension, MF2580 and MF3291; Iowa State University Extension.
What can I do about boxelder bugs myself?
What K-State and Iowa State suggest.
5steps
Tick the ones you're already doing.
Sources: K-State Research and Extension, Household Pests of Kansas (MF3291) and MF2580; Iowa State University Extension; University of Minnesota Extension.
What doesn't work
Bug spray indoors. Once they're inside, sprays don't help much; vacuum them up instead (Iowa State, University of Minnesota). Outside, Colorado State says most sprays for house walls aren't very effective. Cutting down the tree may not solve it either. Female boxelder trees host them, but the bugs fly up to 2 miles from other trees (MF2580).
Worth knowing
Timing matters
K-State says a barrier treatment can be applied where they get in as they begin to gather and enter homes in the fall. Adults are hard to kill unless sprayed directly, and more than one treatment may be needed while they stay active (MF3291).
Some every fall is normal
K-State says it's rarely possible to seal them out completely, and that fighting them around a house is often disappointing (MF3291, MF2580).
Hot, dry years are worse
Outbreaks are more likely after hot, dry years, and more survive a mild winter (MF2580).
What does Donnie do about boxelder bugs, and what does it cost?
Price · boxelder bug work
$125–165
a one-time visit. No contract.
Quarterly · $140 a visit*
Monthly · $120 a visit*
*For a home that's $165 one-time.
Donnie works alone, so it's him at the door on every visit. Most visits are booked within a week.
Boxelder bug work costs the same as any visit.
See every priceArrival · A window of about an hour; he texts when he's on the way
Paying · After the visit: card, Venmo, cash or check
If pests come back · Text Donnie. He talks it through and tells you before he comes whether a return visit costs anything.
No contract
You pay for each visit.
Same-day reply
Mon–Fri 8–5
Licensed in Kansas
In Wichita since 1992
Text or call Donnie
(316) 681-2255
Opens your messages. Donnie replies the same day, Mon–Fri 8–5.