I've recently noticed a lot of red bugs in my garden, so I took some pictures of them and looked them up on google, and I'm pretty sure they are Boxelder bugs. The thing is, I don't have any boxelders in my yard or anywhere near me. I've read different urls about them, but was wondering if anyone has had that problem before? From what I've read they are pretty much harmless, they don't bite or bother the veggies, right?
Do you have any maples? Boxelders and maples are in the same plant genus, Acer. (They may also feed on ash trees.)
Do you have any goldenrain trees? The similar red-shouldered bug likes them.
If they are boxelder bugs, they can be annoying but aren't a problem. In fact, they may be doing you a favor by limiting the number of viable seeds the maples or boxelders produce--Acer seeds are their main target.
We have a couple of maple trees in the front yard and we use the fall leaves as garden mulch. When the trees drop their seeds in the spring time they blow everywhere including into the back yard, so I guess it's a good thing they are eating all of those seeds! That's just that many less that don't sprout in my garden!
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