Yes, the joys of living in Minnesota. After a long, cold winter we finally get nice warm weather and now we have to deal with insects. This is a picture I took outside KDHL studios. In case you don't recognize these insects, they are boxelder bugs. According to a University of Minnesota Extension publication, boxelder bugs overwinter in buildings. When the weather warms up in the spring they become active. Adults feed on low vegetation and seeds on the ground during the spring and summer. Mid-summer they move to female seed-bearing boxelder trees. Late in the summer, boxelder bugs move to warmer areas to overwinter. That means homes and buildings.

I did not know that boxelder bugs actually lived on female boxelder trees until I read it on a University of Minnesota Extension publication written by Jeff Hahn. Boxelder bugs do not bite or sting humans. However they are a nuisance. They can stain curtains, walls or surfaces with their excrement. The easiest way to get rid of them in your house is to use a vacuum cleaner. Then later this summer try and seal up any cracks on the outside of your home to keep them from getting into your house.   

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