When winter approaches in New Jersey, you begin to look forward to cozy, quiet evenings by the fireplace. Most of all the bugs are going away instead of annoying you day by day because they don’t like the cold. What you might forget to realize is that the pests that don’t enjoy the cold like stink bugs and boxelder bugs are searching for a place to settle until winter passes.

Boxelder bugs and stink bugs have just completed a long summer outdoors, eating away at gardens. They are known to cause millions of dollars in crop damage as well as make their way into homes in New Jersey in the winter. While stink bugs and boxelder bugs share similar characteristics, they are not the same. Their size and coloring are similar, and you may be confused for a moment. However, simple observation will help you identify which bugs are squatters in your domain.

Boxelder Bugs

If you enjoy any time outdoors in spring and summer, you’re bound to see your share of these pests. You’ll encounter them in their favorite hiding place for which they’re named, boxelder trees. However, they don’t mind hanging out in other trees in woods, parks, and yards. Knowing their key features can help you quickly identify boxelder bugs in New Jersey.

Bodies

Boxelder bugs have the required characteristics to be classified like insects. Like their close relative, the stink bugs, they are also classified as true bugs. Boxelders have two sets of wings. The outer wings are leathery, and they cover the second pair that are thin and veiny.

Their bodies are flat, elongated ovals, and most measure about a half-inch long. Boxelder bugs can be a dark rusty color or black. You’ll notice their tell-tale markings of red lines along their sides, edges of their outer wings, and the tips of their abdomens. They also have red eyes, and the ends of their legs are red. Males are typically smaller than females, who have larger cores and rounded behinds.

Their compound red eyes may only see faint light and shadows, and they can detect the slightest movement with ocelli or simple eyes. They have a pair of elongated antennae that serve as their primary sensors.

Behaviors

If you notice one boxelder bug flying around, you will shortly notice several more. There are countless numbers of these bugs and they tend to congregate together. You’ll notice them the most eating the leaves of trees and in sunny spots where it is warm.

Boxelders communicate by secreting tiny drops of scent from glands in their bodies. Females use this scent to attract males when it’s time to mate and males use the scent as a warning to predators. This scent is different from the stink bugs.

Diet

Boxelder bugs mainly eat vegetation, seeds, and love trees. They will also feast on fruits such as peaches, pears, plums, and grapes.

As boxelders bugs go through the molting stages, they have a bigger appetite and won’t mind filling up on eating other boxelder bugs or the eggs. They may occasionally snack on smaller dead insects in their path. While these bugs enjoy eating vegetation, they aren’t targeted by the USDA for major crop or tree damage.

Life Cycle of a Boxelder Bug

Boxelders prefer warmer temperatures for mating, which they do each spring and fall. As the temperature gets warmer, they will spend up to two weeks feasting on vegetation, and then they will find a mate. Males can have more than one mate, and they will guard their females until they lay their eggs.

Females find warm, safe places like tree bark crevices and leaf piles to deposit their tiny eggs. They can lay as many as 300 at a time. It usually takes anywhere between 10-19 days for the eggs to hatch into nymphs.

During the same season, they are hatched and boxelder nymphs will shed their exoskeletons five times to reach maturity. The whole process takes an average of 50-78 days. Now, these new boxelder bugs are adults who are ready to mate the following season. You can have up to three generations of these pests looking to lodge in your home for the winter.

Fortunately, boxelders have a short life span of about a year. Their red markings are a formidable warning to predators that they have terrible taste. However, the occasional bird or vermin will eat them anyway if they’re hungry enough.

Damages

Boxelder bugs can fly several miles to find a cozy place to spend the winter. Even though they feast on tree leaves and occasional crops, they do minimal damage. If they infest your home, they aren’t poisonous, and they don’t contaminate food. Their musty presence is just a nuisance.

These freeloaders can’t sting, and they’ll rarely bite. However, they will bite humans or pets as a last resort for defense. It makes a bit itchy red, like a mosquito bite. Unlike mosquitoes, boxelder bugs don’t harbor diseases.

Stink Bugs

If you’ve made the mistake of squishing a stink bug, you’ll identify it in seconds. These pests produce a nauseating fume if they are threatened. Some species can spray this nasty liquid up to several inches at any predator. Stink bugs, along with boxelder bugs, need warmth to survive through the winter. 

Body

Stink bugs and boxelder bugs can easily be mistaken at a quick glance. If you catch them together, you will notice that stink bugs are larger than the boxelder. The average stink bug is about three-fourths of an inch long.

Stink bug bodies are also flat, but they are more rounded and shaped like a Roman shield. Their bodies have a glossy sheen to them and can range in color. Typically, stink bugs will be reddish-brown or blueish in color and can have markings that are cream, orange, or red.

Stink bugs are true insects and very good fliers that can make it nerve-racking if you see them in your home. Stink bugs appear bigger than they are because of their long-jointed legs. They have compound eyes to detect light and movement and two long antennae for sensing their environment.

Diet

Stink bugs feed on the leaves, stems, and flowers of a variety of plants. In fact, your yard and garden are a virtual salad bar for these destructive bugs. No wonder they are such pests in the Garden State.

They enjoy fruit trees and can cause significant damage to the fruit and the trees. Farmers detest stink bugs because the invaders love to snack on vegetables and flowers. Some stink bug species are predators, and they will kill and eat other insects.

Habitats

Stink bugs and boxelder bugs both enjoy open fields, forests, and any place with abundant vegetation. They rest and feed while hanging to the undersides of leaves and on the sides of trees and plants. When the weather turns cooler in late autumn, you’ll see these pests flying around in your house.

Life Cycle of a Stink Bug

When stink bugs invade your home, it can seem like they live forever but reality is they only live 6-8 months. They are prolific breeders, so it looks like they never die.

Like boxelder bugs, stink bugs use scent to attract a mate. After male and female mate, a female can lay up to 70 eggs divided into clusters. Both genders continually mate as long as they live and may produce up to three generations. The mating season in New Jersey is from spring until June, then again in early fall.

It takes about 8-11 days for the teeny red stink bug eggs to hatch into nymphs. For the next fifteen days, the nymphs will feed on vegetation and molt five times into adulthood. The new adults will then start the mating cycle.

Damages

While boxelder bugs do minimal damage to trees, plants, and crops in the Garden State, stink bugs do massive damage. The adults and nymphs drink the sap from many of the plants humans use for food. Stink bugs can kill seedlings, fruits, and vegetables. They also create a foul odor that you will immediately smell if they are in your home. Good news is stink bugs will not eat or mate in your home so other than the odor you will find them hanging out in random places.

Stink bugs aren’t usually social, but overwintering in people’s homes is like a frat party for them. When they’ve secured a cozy, warm spot in your house, these pests emit a pheromone that attracts their family. It’s a stink bug gathering at your place, and they aren’t welcomed.

Stink Bug Problems for Humans and Pets

Just a tiny whiff of stink bug musk is enough to turn your stomach. If they are in your home, you will quickly notice the smell and that smell can rub off onto your clothes and furniture. Stink bugs don’t sting. They rarely bite, and they’re not venomous.

They are just high on the creepy scale with their spindly legs and tendency to dive-bomb unsuspecting people. These pests almost flaunt the fact that they smell worse dead than alive.

Although most stink bugs only emit their rotten fumes when threatened, some species can spray like a skunk. Not only does this musk have an overwhelming odor, but it can irritate the skin of people and pets. It can also irritate and cause allergic reactions if it gets in your eyes. Once a stink bug dies, the musty smell can linger for days.

How To Get Rid of Stink Bugs and Boxelders Bugs

Are you tired of fighting stink bugs and boxelder bugs in your New Jersey home? They often gather on curtains and windows in your house to sunbathe. You get tired of their surprise dive-bombing and the dread of accidentally squashing one.

Vacuuming stink bugs up is one way to get rid of them. The problem with sucking them up into your vacuum is that it will make your machine smell horrible. You have to change the sweeper bag often. If you have a few flying about, you can drop them in a bucket of soapy water. Again, you run the risk of their scent.

Preventative measures against stink bug invasions are the same as with boxelder bugs. As soon as the weather turns chilly, they’ll be searching for any crack, hole, or crevice in your house they can find for easy entry. A little caulking and repair can rip up the welcome mat from both pests. Keep your door and window screens in good repair, and don’t leave the door open too long.

Stink bugs and boxelder bugs will continue to be an issue in New Jersey. Professional pest control services can provide a lasting solution to keep them out of your home. Whether it’s summer or winter, pest control will be a good option in stopping the hassle of these pests.

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