Scott Dorn from BOGO Pest Control, my go-to guy for pests, tells me that boxelder bugs are going to be bad news this year. I’ve gotten to know Scott quite well over the past year, even having him come out to teach at our local ASHI chapter. He’s passionate about pest control, and I trust him. When he told me that boxelder bugs were going to be bad this year, I asked him to elaborate. Right after that, I scheduled him to come out to my house to treat it. I did a video interview with him, and I had to look up the word “overwinter” afterward. It means “spend the winter”. Duh. Check it out: https://youtu.be/ulMj_y35zqg
As you can see from the video, Scott isn’t into secrets. He tells me exactly what he’s using on my house. I could order that product online and treat my own house if I wanted to, but I prefer to let professionals do their job.
BOGO Pest Control in action
Scott sprayed all around my house and guaranteed me that I wouldn’t have boxelder bugs in my house this fall. We’ll see :-).
I’ll report back here in December to evaluate how accurate his statement was. For the record, this type of bug treatment costs around $200. The price varies based on the house size.
Update: Scott was right. No bugs.
Author: Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections
Emilie Quast
October 3, 2017, 11:15 am
He isn’t wearing a face mask, so he’s not afraid of breathing what he’s spraying, but (you knew it was coming) how selective is this insecticide? Does is also take out ground bees? Sweat bees? Honey bees, Dragon flies, other pollinators? I have found I can walk around, look at what the box elders are swarming on, and do some selective weeding, and that helps a bit. That technique works fine on some other insect pests, too. You just have to be home and observant, which is not too onerous.
Barb Gasterland
October 3, 2017, 11:49 am
So why does he not talk about any other management like sealing up cracks etc. in ones home before spraying?
I have to also comment that he is spraying several feet away from the housed not wearing face mask doesn’t seem like good application practices to me.
What affect does the insecticide have on humans especially young children who come in contact with the house after it’s sprayed.
Here a more complete information from the U of MN entomologists.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/boxelder-bugs/
Personally I find it extremely offensive that he claims it’s a cure all for any insects. What’s the other side of the story.
Ken Meyer
October 10, 2017, 9:37 pm
We live in Portland OR and have a lot of boxelder bugs because of a maple tree at the back of the house. They are a nuisance and do get in at some of the windows on the side of the house where the tree is, but we’ve never considered spraying to get rid of them. My preferred method of control is a flyswatter. Last year I went through three of them!
They are poor flyers and tend to congregate in the same spots during hot weather, so it’s fairly easy to swat them down. We call them dumb bugs because of their slow and seemingly clumsy flying skills.
For some reason there were very few boxelder bugs this year, the first time I can remember, and we have been here 30 years.
BTW, I’m a home inspector and think this is a terrific blog. I like to check in often for the latest updates.