I see little red bugs in the backyard! Bug & pest control in Freehold, NJ

Challenge

A Freehold homeowner contacted Cowleys after an unsettling discovery — her backyard was overrun with what she described as “little red bugs.” Whenever Cowleys receives a pest infestation call, we’re sometimes not 100% sure with what we are dealing with until we inspect the property firsthand. Although our customer service reps (CSRs) are very knowledgeable, there are times where it is difficult to positively identify a pest over the phone. Pretty much everyone knows what a cockroach or yellow jacket looks like, but “little red bugs” can mean almost anything. Also, few homeowners send a photo of the invading pests from their smart phones. The last thing most homeowners want to do is get up close and personal with an insect infestation by taking a few photos. Also, we need to go out to the home to identify and take care of the infestation regardless of the particular insect anyway. The first rule of a pest control technician is to expect the unexpected. We must always prepared no matter what surprises are thrown at us.

One of our CSRs who took the call thought that these little red buggers may be clover mites. Clover mites are a type of arachnid. About the size of a pinhead, these eight-legged insects are similar to spiders and ticks. They typically appear in large numbers. If you see a mass of dark red specks crawling around your house, you may have clover mites. However, while reviewing my work schedule, I was skeptical. Clover mites prefer cooler temperatures, and are inactive on warm, dry days. Since we were in the midst of one of our New Jersey scorching summer days with temperatures in the 90s, I was doubtful that clover mites were running around. When dealing with these mystery bug jobs, I am always excited to get out to the homeowner’s residence to see what is really going on and find out what insects are waiting for me.
  
When I arrived at the customer's home, she had an impromptu party going on with a few of her friends and neighbors in her backyard. While these bugs were bothering her trees and plants, they had no interest in people. Although happy to see me, the homeowner was in a very anxious state. She was especially upset that a small army of insects were decimating her beautiful Hosta plants. Hosta plants, perennials that thrive in shady locations, usually have few problems. But every so often, you’ll find some chewed out holes in their leaves. Often, nighttime foragers like slugs or snails are the culprits, but in this case, there were bugs crawling all over them in broad daylight. And it wasn’t just her Hosta plants. Bugs were all over her backyard.

After studying the insects up close, I had a good idea with what I was dealing with. However, I wanted to be positive before applying any treatment. Out of an abundance of caution, I brought a sample of these bugs back to our office to research them in more depth with my supervisor. We agreed that these bugs were boxelder nymphs. Infestations like this one can be a bit tricky to figure out because nymphs sometimes look nothing like the adult bugs. For example, with boxelder bugs, the adults are oval, about 1/2 inch long, and dull black with red markings. However, the tiny baby nymphs are often completely red in their early stages. Boxelders molt six times on their way to adulthood, and, from reviewing photographs, we determined that these bugs were in their third stage of molt. Without doing some research, it would have been easy to confuse these little red boxelder nymphs with clover mites.

Boxelder bugs are so named because they are a common pest of female seed-bearing boxelder trees, Even though they feed primarily on the seeds of boxelder trees, they will go after maple or ash trees as well. Now that I knew what I was dealing with, I could treat her backyard and get rid of the infestation.

Solution

I was ready to head back to her home that day, but since the homeowner was enjoying company in her backyard, we agreed that it would be easier if I came back bright and early the next morning to treat the property. It is important to take care of summer bug infestations because once the weather starts to cool, many bugs, including box elders, will try to overwinter inside your home, looking to push their way in through every crack or crevice they can find.