And I’ve been waging a personal jihad on them since last year.
12 Replies to “We call them Maple bugs”
We had them bad last year, haven’t seen one yet this year. The ladybug population has reached epic proportions around here this year though.
We had only a few hanging around this year. About ten years ago they were so bad they would even show in the house.
You still use CBC as a source of information???
I just use it to keep my bile up.
OMG ! This Biblical Plague of BUG take up residency in a Maple Tree outside my office, and they find their way inside my office every summer. They reproduce as fast as any creature on the planet and are THE most disgusting PEST that I have to deal with. My bug spray holds them at bay for a moment … then they mount another assault on the homestead. PLEASE bring back DDT ! Malathion … Chlorodyne !! The NASTIEST insecticides ever invented by man .. chop that Maple down … tent my house … ANYTHING !! to get rid of these relentless inheritors of the earth.
Wait … let me guess … these things are getting worse because of G.l.o.b.a.l. W.a.r.m.i.n.g. ? OK OK … you WIN … I will stop driving my BIG ASS SUV … geeze.
It’s appropriate – maple trees are big big nasty weeds. One pest attracts another. Unlike maple trees, natural processes will take care of these. I gather from an entomologist I spoke with about this that while birds and other insects, and of course spires, do good work, most population explosions of insects are brought to an end by viral plagues, to which insects are as susceptible as we are.
We had an outbreak of span worms down here on the rock, about 15 years ago. I remember hearing the joy with which the local starlings realized the worms were edible! It’s hard to find a span worm this year.
I remember too the tent caterpillar outbreak in Ontario in the early 1950s. For one year they were God-awful; for one year they were bad; for two years they were mild nuisances. Try to find a caterpillar tent now.
I am suspicious of insecticides because they kill birds and spiders. Good for an explosion of pests. The widespread use of insecticides delayed the decline of span worms here for three years, in my estimation.
Oh my . “take care of these” is “take care of these insects”
“of course spires” is “of course spiders”
Whoa people! These are largely benign, (altho granted you step on one on your carpet you’ll get an ugly purple stain).
As what Ken said, about ten years back we had quite a dose of these critters at the farmyard that happened to have an abundance of maples.
Thing is, in fall they tend to hold afternoon group fests where they like to find a sunny exposure and pile upon each other, kinda like something that happens at a Lieberal convention.
Simple trick, have a pot of hot water handy, doesn’t need to be boiling, and give them a splash. They’re done.
Lieberals, takes at least a firehose.
Thanks for the tip ! I am firing up the kettle now. Hot water won’t be as hard on my central nervous system as a can of RAID. The babies of these THINGS are like little red dots (the size of a sharpened pencil tip) walking across the table. Even these tiny things leave a bright red smear as their exoskeletons are crushed to spill its contents. Sorry, I am not a Buddhist. I had a total infestation of red dots in my office … proving that these bugs are as virile as Donald Trump 11 years ago.
Agreed and ditto here, but the hot water trick is an idea we had not tried. Yes, the more maples there are around, the more of these Halloween bugs there are.
I had in my yard too. They wandered in every fall. I found they were actually Liberals.
We had them bad last year, haven’t seen one yet this year. The ladybug population has reached epic proportions around here this year though.
We had only a few hanging around this year. About ten years ago they were so bad they would even show in the house.
You still use CBC as a source of information???
I just use it to keep my bile up.
OMG ! This Biblical Plague of BUG take up residency in a Maple Tree outside my office, and they find their way inside my office every summer. They reproduce as fast as any creature on the planet and are THE most disgusting PEST that I have to deal with. My bug spray holds them at bay for a moment … then they mount another assault on the homestead. PLEASE bring back DDT ! Malathion … Chlorodyne !! The NASTIEST insecticides ever invented by man .. chop that Maple down … tent my house … ANYTHING !! to get rid of these relentless inheritors of the earth.
Wait … let me guess … these things are getting worse because of G.l.o.b.a.l. W.a.r.m.i.n.g. ? OK OK … you WIN … I will stop driving my BIG ASS SUV … geeze.
It’s appropriate – maple trees are big big nasty weeds. One pest attracts another. Unlike maple trees, natural processes will take care of these. I gather from an entomologist I spoke with about this that while birds and other insects, and of course spires, do good work, most population explosions of insects are brought to an end by viral plagues, to which insects are as susceptible as we are.
We had an outbreak of span worms down here on the rock, about 15 years ago. I remember hearing the joy with which the local starlings realized the worms were edible! It’s hard to find a span worm this year.
I remember too the tent caterpillar outbreak in Ontario in the early 1950s. For one year they were God-awful; for one year they were bad; for two years they were mild nuisances. Try to find a caterpillar tent now.
I am suspicious of insecticides because they kill birds and spiders. Good for an explosion of pests. The widespread use of insecticides delayed the decline of span worms here for three years, in my estimation.
Oh my . “take care of these” is “take care of these insects”
“of course spires” is “of course spiders”
Whoa people! These are largely benign, (altho granted you step on one on your carpet you’ll get an ugly purple stain).
As what Ken said, about ten years back we had quite a dose of these critters at the farmyard that happened to have an abundance of maples.
Thing is, in fall they tend to hold afternoon group fests where they like to find a sunny exposure and pile upon each other, kinda like something that happens at a Lieberal convention.
Simple trick, have a pot of hot water handy, doesn’t need to be boiling, and give them a splash. They’re done.
Lieberals, takes at least a firehose.
Thanks for the tip ! I am firing up the kettle now. Hot water won’t be as hard on my central nervous system as a can of RAID. The babies of these THINGS are like little red dots (the size of a sharpened pencil tip) walking across the table. Even these tiny things leave a bright red smear as their exoskeletons are crushed to spill its contents. Sorry, I am not a Buddhist. I had a total infestation of red dots in my office … proving that these bugs are as virile as Donald Trump 11 years ago.
Agreed and ditto here, but the hot water trick is an idea we had not tried. Yes, the more maples there are around, the more of these Halloween bugs there are.
I had in my yard too. They wandered in every fall. I found they were actually Liberals.
So Zafar Ahmad is your Imam?