At my house there is an over abundance of box elder bugs that get into everything. I live in a country mountain forest setting with several different species of trees. my trees are huge (really huge)....ie fir, pine, maple, oak ect. I have tried everything i can think of to downsize the quantity of box elder bugs. The suggested technique is to spray with common dish soap and water. Yeah it does get rid of what gets sprayed but there is an equal amount to take their place...So i was wondering if i sprayed the trees that are closest to my house with an oil spray of some kind would that help at all?? I would only be able to spray the base of the trees and a few lower branches.
Yup, it's nearly a plague. Years ago it was Tussock Moths. I don't know if it's still available, but we bought Later's Residual Crawling Insect (poison). You basically pour a bit in a thin continuous line (or spray) the perimeter of your house with it...patio edges, garage, the whole works. Worked well for Strawberry Beetles (but the ones already in the garage were really attracted to the joins in the freshly-done gyproc panels). Worked for ants too...anything that crawls. Our dog never even sniffed it, luckily. PS..seems Later's doesn't make it anymore, comes from Denmark and is approved by Canadian Food Inspection (maybe not by the US?). Listing is here: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/reference/pesticidese.shtml It's near bottom of page, Item 24858.
Hi Irene, Maybe this info from this site will help. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2106.html That site also lists pesticides to use but I DO NOT recommend them. In searching for info about them I started with what appeared to be the least toxic - "Other sprays include amorphous silica gel (Drione, Tri-Die)..." and was amazed to find they contain petroleum solvent and a pyrethroid. From this MSDS site (all caps are theirs and not mine): http://msds.ehs.cornell.edu/msds/msdsdod/a490/m244929.htm The MSDS also notes: This site is informative, but really offers no real solution. Scroll down to 'What Can You Do?". http://unexco.com/boxelder.html Newt
