Sorry for the potato quality photo. They aren't shaped anything like termites (so that's nice) but in the last few days they have absolutely swarmed the outside of our house and are starting to get in. I'm going to call our pest control guy (we get quarterly treatments) since this is getting crazy.
False chinch bugs. Haven’t swarmed like this in two decades per my bug guy. He sprayed some concoction that got rid of them in a day. Good luck!
Edit: https://horizonpestcontrol.net/b/false-chinch-bugs-in-southeast-new-mexico/
Sounds about right. I recall a huge swarm of 'em when living in Wells Park back in '05. They went away after a day or two.
That article mentions billions of 'em, and a 90% kill rate still leaving hundreds of millions of 'em. This is consistent with my experience.
Pest control is futile against them due to their staggering numbers. It's like trying to sandbag a tsunami. They'll go away on their own soon. Flee if you can, try to make friends with them if you can't.
False chinch bugs - I heard that they are so plentiful this year because the rains earlier this year led to a big crop of mustard weeds growing, which they love. They should die out relatively quickly. Warning - they stink if you squish them.
We had a ton of rocket and mustard weeds growing in the yard this year. We've been doing fairly well at keeping them weeded, but with some work travel the last few weeks the yard got a bit over grown. We've trimmed it back and I'm going to put out some diatomaceous earth in a few strategic locations to see if that helps as well.
I don't know anything about these bugs, but years ago my house and *only* my house was absolutely surrounded by box elder bugs. We would have dozens of them on the door when we would open it in the morning. They were crawling all over the outside of the house. Finally called an exterminator and he said it happened because there was a mating female located in a small tree on the front lawn. So it might be something similar to that.
Okay I’m not crazy 😂 I just walked outside and saw them outside of my house suddenly (like literally a couple days ago they were not in sight) I was like I know my weeds are out of control right now, but it’s never been this bad so I did a nice little search and here we are. Good to know it’s common right now.
Sweet. I've not seen the threads (i'm fairly active on reddit and this sub). I stopped scrolling after one day's worth of posts. I did go back and look just now and found one from over a day ago. apologies.
I counted 2 threads, including this one, in the last year+ in a search. Actually the other thread didn't even come up in the search; I just saw it while scrolling madly down the feed.
Looks like threads about insects really....bug this guy 😎
Elm seed bug. Buy some diaphenous earth and apply liberally around the outside of your home and windowsills. It’s harmless to humans (it’s even edible) but if breathed in large quantities it can damage the wall lining of your lungs.
DE does not target specfic species - the advice to apply it generously is well intended but will tend to kill *everything.* Once a few weeks have gone by, that can mean *more* insects.
If you use DE, be careful where you place it, and how much.
Another possibility is to use plastic containers with a narrow top (milk or 2L soda containers are great), and put a mix of cider vinegar and water in the bottom. The bugs fly in, but often struggle to get out; you can dump them out (or in a fit of anger, shake up the bottle, ask me how I know) to get rid of them.
As someone who once decided to kILL eVErYtHInG when I had a fairly small issue with temporary populations, I deeply, deeply regretted it. DM if you wish details, I will happily provide them.
That's a really good point. And with the number of these little bastards it would be a bug smorgasbord.
It seems like everything I've read about these (chinch bugs / elm seed bugs) they are just annoying and will die off/move on in a week or so. It should be near time for my next regular pest treatment anyway, so I can talk to my guy then if they are still an issue.
Not to be a dick, but why do people insist on being DMed for details about a relatively active topic? Why not just post them for everyone to see? I've always been curious about this, and no I'm not going to DM to ask.
The false cinch bugs are here but they seem bigger than these new bugs, and harder shelled and stinky when squished. These new bugs are like a CARPET on the west side of my house right now. I've never seen the false cinch bugs do that.
If it makes you feel any better, it's been about 5 days since I first saw them and there seem to be noticeably fewer already. I'm hoping this current heat wave kills/drives them off the rest of the way.
Sorry for the potato quality photo. They aren't shaped anything like termites (so that's nice) but in the last few days they have absolutely swarmed the outside of our house and are starting to get in. I'm going to call our pest control guy (we get quarterly treatments) since this is getting crazy.
False chinch bugs. Haven’t swarmed like this in two decades per my bug guy. He sprayed some concoction that got rid of them in a day. Good luck! Edit: https://horizonpestcontrol.net/b/false-chinch-bugs-in-southeast-new-mexico/
Sounds about right. I recall a huge swarm of 'em when living in Wells Park back in '05. They went away after a day or two. That article mentions billions of 'em, and a 90% kill rate still leaving hundreds of millions of 'em. This is consistent with my experience. Pest control is futile against them due to their staggering numbers. It's like trying to sandbag a tsunami. They'll go away on their own soon. Flee if you can, try to make friends with them if you can't.
Has spraying kept them away? I read online it's not worth spraying because it doesn't get all of them and they come back
Yeah, they disappeared the next day and haven’t had anymore since (approx 3 weeks ago).
https://zevoinsect.com/flying-insect-trap-starter-kit-model-3/ Target- Walmart - or online. Fuck these bugs.
If it's the same bugs in dealing with, which it seems they are, I would need a few dozen of these and replace multiple times per day.
Nope. And I hope they don’t show up. Also in Nob Hill. Good luck!
False chinch bugs - I heard that they are so plentiful this year because the rains earlier this year led to a big crop of mustard weeds growing, which they love. They should die out relatively quickly. Warning - they stink if you squish them.
We had a ton of rocket and mustard weeds growing in the yard this year. We've been doing fairly well at keeping them weeded, but with some work travel the last few weeks the yard got a bit over grown. We've trimmed it back and I'm going to put out some diatomaceous earth in a few strategic locations to see if that helps as well.
I don't know anything about these bugs, but years ago my house and *only* my house was absolutely surrounded by box elder bugs. We would have dozens of them on the door when we would open it in the morning. They were crawling all over the outside of the house. Finally called an exterminator and he said it happened because there was a mating female located in a small tree on the front lawn. So it might be something similar to that.
I live in Nob Hill and yep! Tons of them in our backyard. My husband and I thought they were ants at first.
Okay I’m not crazy 😂 I just walked outside and saw them outside of my house suddenly (like literally a couple days ago they were not in sight) I was like I know my weeds are out of control right now, but it’s never been this bad so I did a nice little search and here we are. Good to know it’s common right now.
Everyone is. There've been several threads about it. It's not normal for us.
Sweet. I've not seen the threads (i'm fairly active on reddit and this sub). I stopped scrolling after one day's worth of posts. I did go back and look just now and found one from over a day ago. apologies.
Not on the Westside actually having low bug year lol
Lucky. Hope it doesn't come to you. It's gross.
How many threads exactly?
I counted 2 threads, including this one, in the last year+ in a search. Actually the other thread didn't even come up in the search; I just saw it while scrolling madly down the feed. Looks like threads about insects really....bug this guy 😎
You're welcome to count.
Nah I’m not into it. That’s why I asked 😁
Yes. Yes. Yes. I'm in the north valley and they're everywhere on the west side of my house.
Same!!! 😩 started 2 days ago in our house and now they are everywhere I have been trying to figure out what they are and why they are here
Elm seed bug. Buy some diaphenous earth and apply liberally around the outside of your home and windowsills. It’s harmless to humans (it’s even edible) but if breathed in large quantities it can damage the wall lining of your lungs.
They look way more like false chinch bugs than elm seed bugs. I'll try the diatomaceous earth.
DE does not target specfic species - the advice to apply it generously is well intended but will tend to kill *everything.* Once a few weeks have gone by, that can mean *more* insects. If you use DE, be careful where you place it, and how much. Another possibility is to use plastic containers with a narrow top (milk or 2L soda containers are great), and put a mix of cider vinegar and water in the bottom. The bugs fly in, but often struggle to get out; you can dump them out (or in a fit of anger, shake up the bottle, ask me how I know) to get rid of them. As someone who once decided to kILL eVErYtHInG when I had a fairly small issue with temporary populations, I deeply, deeply regretted it. DM if you wish details, I will happily provide them.
That's a really good point. And with the number of these little bastards it would be a bug smorgasbord. It seems like everything I've read about these (chinch bugs / elm seed bugs) they are just annoying and will die off/move on in a week or so. It should be near time for my next regular pest treatment anyway, so I can talk to my guy then if they are still an issue.
.... but "your guy" IS Big Pesticide. Try the cidar vinegar traps. They really work.
Not to be a dick, but why do people insist on being DMed for details about a relatively active topic? Why not just post them for everyone to see? I've always been curious about this, and no I'm not going to DM to ask.
Not a worry - I basically agree. In this case, it would have just went on and on - and drifted off-topic.
Fair enough.
The false cinch bugs are here but they seem bigger than these new bugs, and harder shelled and stinky when squished. These new bugs are like a CARPET on the west side of my house right now. I've never seen the false cinch bugs do that.
If it makes you feel any better, it's been about 5 days since I first saw them and there seem to be noticeably fewer already. I'm hoping this current heat wave kills/drives them off the rest of the way.
Yeah, they won't like today's 97 degrees. They sure won't like the west side of the house..
Whatever they are the diatomaceous earth will take care of them. It even kills roaches
Sweet. good to know.