Our little Buggy Friends

So, a thanks to all of my friends who correctly identified the little buggy visitor picture I posted on my facebook page. We have a Box Elder Bug (or Beetle) picnic going on on my front porch!! I am not exaggerating when I say that there are hundreds or even thousands of these little guys out there! I got out the Ortho Home Defense spray before I even knew what they were and sprayed the doorway, all of the little cracks in our concrete and around the flower beds before we left the house yesterday. They were crawling out of everywhere! It was a little creepy, then I sprayed a pile of leaves.....

EEEKkkkkkk!!!

Last year I noticed a few of these little guys, and thought nothing of it. This year, is a completely different ballgame. There are too many to not notice! Luckily, upon doing a little research, they are actually quite friendly little bugs. They are called Box Elder Bugs (or beetles). It turns out, we have a female box elder maple tree in our front yard... who knew?( Those are the trees whose seeds are the ones that you throw in the air and they come to the ground like a helicopter!! ) They don't sting or bite, but they stink (in large numbers) and stain when they are squished (which also makes their smell potent). Their smell attracts more of the beetles. I am really glad that they are friendly, but I still want them gone. They shouldn't be a problem as long as the weather is warm, but when winter arrives, they attempt to move in to somewhere warm... ie... my house!!

Here is a little buggy close up for you to enjoy.. :)  After reading up on them a little bit, I do feel for the little guys a bit. They only live for a few days as the individual bug life goes. They like syrup and enjoy sunning themselves on particularly warm days. --- sound familiar---- these bugs are me in my teenage years!! They congregate together because they like company! They spend hours on the telephone and enjoy reading any gossip magazines and often take the car without filling up the tank on its return.... wait... maybe that last part was me!! Either way, I have already poisoned the little suckers.... and hopefully it works! I don't want this to turn into a full fledged war! I don't think I would win either. They can fly up to two miles, and there are a lot of these trees in my neighborhood. Hopefully our tree will be somewhat less desirable until we get the house sold... they they can have it back! It was a little scary that most Internet sites suggested getting rid of the tree as the best defense. That tree is home value!!! Minus a couple thousand bugs that is!! Wish us luck!!