Pat Kiewicz wrote:
Natural Girl said:



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!

--
Natural Girl