PINE SEED BUGS

The pine seed bug, also called the western conifer seed bug, is a common household occasional invader found inside Ontario homes during the fall, winter and spring. This nuisance pest most closely resembles the squash bug found on pumpkin and squash foliage during the summer. The pine seed bug is a typical occasional invader, similar to the better known Asian lady beetle, Boxelder bug, and Cluster Flies. The adults wander into houses in the fall of the year. They are attracted to the exposed south sides of houses where they bask in the warmth of the late summer sunlight. After sunset, they crawl into wall voids and attics through cracks and gaps in the siding, foundation and eaves, or around windows.

White they do not bite, sting, feed, carry diseases or otherwise cause harm to people, pets, the house or its contents, the amount of insects that enter a home can be very alarming and a huge annoyance to homeowners. Pine seed bugs also have a very distinct smell if they are squished and they are often mistaken referred to as stink bugs.

Pine seed bugs cannot reproduce inside the house, as egg laying and development are restricted to the host plants during the summer months. Sealing exterior gaps and cracks around windows, doors, eaves, roofs, siding and other points of access before these insects appear can help prevent some unwanted entry. For large infestations spraying pyrethroid insecticides such as permethrin to the outside of buildings when the insects appear will help prevent pest entry, however homeowner insecticides do not provide satisfactory prevention.