With temperatures dipping across Ontario, most of us have started subbing out our shorts and tees for light coats and jeans. Some may even deign to turn the thermostat up. But for several species of bugs seeking to escape the fall weather, there’s little respite to be found in nature. For this reason, insects such as the box elder bug and Asian lady bug have been wriggling their way into people’s homes.
“It’s like clockwork. As soon as the days start getting shorter and it starts getting colder at night, you’ll find these bugs coming inside,” says Andrew Young, an assistant professor of systematic entomology at the University of Guelph. “They will quite happily use people’s houses, barns, anything like that.”
The critters are often spotted on south-facing exterior walls, where they warm up in the sun, before eventually making their way into homes via cracks in the foundation, open windows, and other unsealed openings.
Other bugs such as cluster flies, western conifer seed bugs, and marmorated stink bugs also seek warmth in homes during the cold months, but Young says people tend to notice the box elder bug and Asian lady bug because they’re slightly larger, more colourful, and numerous. Box elder bugs are roughly half an inch long with black bodies and bright red or orange stripes, and Asian lady bugs look like regular lady bugs but larger and with a more oval shape and white heads with a black M-shaped marking.
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The bugs are harmless to humans, but they could upset a pet’s stomach if large amounts are ingested, says Young. “They’re not very tasty though, so it’s unlikely a cat or dog would eat more than one or two of them,” he adds.
At their worst, they’re a nuisance, and a hard one to prevent at that. “They’re pretty small so they’re good at finding little cracks to come in through,” says Young. “There is a way to prevent them from coming in. It’s to have a perfectly sealed home. But that’s not necessarily realistic, especially if it’s a cottage.”
If they do make their way into your cottage or home, Young says getting rid of them is simple. “I recommend gently sweeping them out of the house using a broom and dustpan,” he says—gentle being the key word. If aggravated, box elder bugs release a stinky odour and Asian lady bugs eject a yellow liquid meant to deter predators that will need to be mopped up.
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