Thousands of These Little Pests Want to Be in Your Home This Iowa Winter

It's that time of year again. The time of year when outdoor plants start to die off, and so do pesky bugs. Well, most of them do, anyway. Some like to punch their ticket to the winter hotel known as your house.

DUN DUN DUNNN!!

Actually, there's really no need to be concerned, but it is boxelder bug season. These fittingly for autumn black and orange bugs generally start appearing around the state in late September.

According to The Weather Network, see the video below, adult boxelder bugs lay their eggs in trees on their leaves. They find maple, ash, and appropriately boxelder trees most suitable.

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They prefer warmer weather, as most insects do, so when the temps start to drop, they look for a warm place to go. That warm place, likely somewhere in or around your home.

Last year, my wife and I had a boxelder outbreak. They invaded a room in our home, and it took us several weeks to drill down on where they were coming in. Now, here's the good news when it comes to boxelders... they're completely harmless.

They do not bite, or at least it's very rare that they do. They won't harm anything, including your indoor plants, though they can leave light-colored feces behind according to the National Pesticide Information Center.

My experience in dealing with these little pests was actually pretty easy, once we figured out where they were coming in.

We used a natural pesticide, spraying it in a crack in our foundation, and knocked the little buggers right out. Then, we filled in the crack where they were coming in.

The Weather Network suggests you spray horticulture oil on trees in your yard during the summer months to deter the bugs from laying their eggs. See the video below for more on how to get rid of them.