I have little black and red bugs that look like lightning bugs (but with no light) in my car. What are they and how do I get rid of them?
Stephanie from Ft. Payne, AL
We had box elder bugs at my Mom's house 2 years in a row or maybe it just seemed like 2 years. We didn't do anything to them and they eventually went away. We haven't seen them at all this year. I'm not sure if they realized there are no Box Elder trees around for them to eat or what. They were living under her porch. I live in Western Pennsylvania.
They are called Box Elder Bugs.
Funny, I have a yard full of Box Elder bugs (glad to have a name now) every Spring and they're no problem at all. I think it's because I use natural gardening and they appear to be breaking down the tree leaves that I deliberately let be after Fall.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have little red and black bugs. They're everywhere. There's a nest outside and there's millions. Help :(
By Jack from Atlanta, GA
I am in GA too & we had the same black /red bugs. From the research I did they are Box Elder bugs, they come from Box Elder trees. You must have the trees nearby . The bugs are creepy & are a nuisance, but not harmful. You can kill them by pouring very hot water on them (of course bug spray works too), just have to keep at it.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
