Don’t bug me: Pests invade area

By Bob Williams | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, October 8, 2007

Most talk about invasive species in Otter Tail County centers around aquatic plants in the many lakes in the region. But lately, many homeowners in the area are battling pests of a different sort in their homes.

During late summer and fall, boxelder bugs start to leave the trees from where they were feeding to find protected areas for the winter. Boxelders feed on the sap of the tree. As the weather cools, they push into cracks and spaces around homes.

Asian Beetles are also on the prowl looking for places to over-winter. Originally brought to the southeastern United States to assist farmers, they have slowly migrated around the country over the past six years.

“They’re real high flyers, tree top high,” Midwest Pest Control Owner Alan Stokke said. “In Asia, they would fly to the side of mountains and dig down in mulch and dirt to over-winter.”

Lacking mountains here in the area, the critters look for two story homes and prefer lighter colored homes.

“Beetles actually think a two story house is the side of a mountain,” Stokke said.

The beetles are currently migrating from the soybean fields in the area. According to Stokke, on the first 60 degree day after a killing frost they just take off out of the bean fields.

“Nature has a way of telling them it’s time to over-winter,” he said. “Bean harvest is going on and that’s why we’re starting to see them.”

According to Professor and Extension Entomologist Jeff Dahn, Asian beetles are so prevalent, that they aren’t just living in bean fields. They’re in gardens and trees, as well.

“Their goal really is to hunker down in cold weather and go inactive,” Hahn said. “If they get all the way into your home they don’t have that opportunity.”

Boxelder bugs are not a serious problem every year. They are most abundant during hot, dry summers when followed by warm springs.

The best management of boxelder bugs is prevention — taking steps to keep them from entering your home from the start. You can partly do this through exclusion, repairing and replacing damaged windows and door screens, though it largely depends on how your home is constructed.

Check the outside surfaces for spaces and cracks that may allow insects easy entry, sealing any openings 1/8th inch in size or larger. This will not eliminate all boxelder bugs or Asian beetles but it can significantly reduce the number entering buildings.

Another pest, the Cluster Fly goes hand in hand with Asian Beetles. The fly migrates to structures and acts a lot like the beetle taking up residency at the same time.

Stokke has been busy around Fergus Falls ridding businesses and homes of the pests, visiting seven to eight places a day dealing with boxelders alone. While he points out a professional exterminator is not mandatory to remove the insects, most homeowners do not have the equipment necessary to completely exterminate the pests.

“Like fixing a plumbing leak, is it best to call a professional? Of course.” he said. “It’s difficult for the average person who doesn’t have application equipment. You have to treat around eaves and soffits with a residual spray so they walk across a treated surface and die.”

For more information on these insects, visit the Jeff Dahn’s articles at the Minnesota Extension website http://www.extension.umn.edu/