I've been told that the bugs crawling around my house are box elder beetles. Any ideas?

I hate those!!! One year, they were so bad I'd wake up and find them in my room every morning! Sometimes in the bed. *EW* My maintenance man said "Oh, don't worry they won't hurt you!" Um okay, YUCK if he woke up with them in HIS bed he might feel different.

He said pesticides don't keep them out like other bugs, but they're harmless so "don't worry" about them....

Box elder bugs feed on box elder trees, which look a lot like maples. They come inside houses to overwinter, or under shingles, and you will see them emerging in the spring. They are harmless, will not bite, but they can be a nuisance. You have to hit them with the insecticide to kill them, as they are not eating when they are in your house. You might need to make sure all your window frames and door frames are caulked so there are no openings for them to get inside.

Boxelder bugs are not beetles. They're true bugs. The only way I know of to be rid of them is not to have any host plants around. They particularly like boxelder maples (obviously).

At my previous home, the neighbor had a nice variegated boxelder maple tree, so I had boxelder bugs.

The first time I encountered one, it was upside down in my salad dressing atop a square of red jello. I didn't like that kind of garnish, but I learned they are completely harmless. You can't necessarily say that about insecticides.

Can you deal with the source? Is it in your yard or your neighbor's?

We had them a couple years ago. They liked our maple tree. I saw a bunch of eggs attached at the TOP of the tree. They crawl down, and then get their wings. You can kill them with soapy water. Every day I poured soapy water over and around the tree to kill them before they could fly until the exterminator came. He was able to get the solution clear to the top of the tree and around the house. That worked well for us. We now have cut down that tree.

I'd call a pest control company and have your entire yard and house sprayed.

If they really are box elders, locate nearby box elder trees & remove.

Gross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! uuuuug that's really gross.