Question: We left our home for Christmas and returned to find strange bugs
in our house. They are in bedrooms, bathrooms, and other rooms equally.
They are about the size of a cockroach, but are black with red thin
diagonal stripes on them. They move very slowly and do not run from you.
They also fly. Do you know what they are and how can we get rid of them?
We live in Henderson, KY.
ANSWER Probably what you have found are boxelder bugs. There are few other insects that have this coloration. Boxelder bugs are red and black.
Boxelder bugs are plant feeding insects that usually utilize the leaves and seeds of boxelder and maple trees for food. They generally prefer to be on the female (seed-bearing) trees. The first appear in the spring when the leaves and seeds begin to form.
These insects have 2 to 3 generation per year. The fall generation overwinters in protected places. Many times the overwinter sites are houses, which makes them a nuisance. They have some chemicals (called pheromones) that help them to aggregate in large numbers, so oftentimes thousands of them will gather in one place to spend the winter.
Outside: Boxelder bugs can be killed with nearly any insecticide, so if you don't get control immediately do not assume they are resistant to the chemical. They may not have been contacted because of the large number at one place, simply spray again to contact them all.
Inside: They can be removed from inside the house with a vacuum cleaner. You may have to keep doing this for several days to get them all. During the winter they can be active during warm and sunny days. They don't bite or sting or lay eggs in houses, but if crushed they could stain fabric.
