car infested with boxelder beetles

My car seems to be infested with boxelder beetles. Is there anything safe to use on your car or do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of them? They are not IN the car (yet) but they are in all the crevices and under the hood. I’m desperate!

First, you can and definitely need to kill off the boxelder bugs active and roosting on the car. Once they start doing this, they’ll have the location (in this case the car) scented and marked. Its kind of like GPS; once they mark it, they’ll keep returning to it over and over.

Now if you were to move your car to another location, maybe 1-2 miles away, they’d probably leave and not return. But as long as the car is kept at the current property, it will continue to attract boxelders and even after you kill the ones using it, other boxelder bugs from the local area will be attracted and in turn, start roosting in it too. This happens because boxelder bugs leave a “scent” or pheromone on good roosting locations. This scent is used to alert others about this “good place to live”.

So to get rid of them, you’ll need a quick killing aerosol. I have used FS MP AEROSOL on my car for ants and it worked great. I’ve also used it on stinkbugs, roaches and boxelder bugs around the home too so I know it will kill instantly for all these pests. This is important. Plus, it will also flush them out.

So I recommend you get a can and spray all cracks and crevices where you think they’re hiding or nesting. Typically this will be all the way around the seal found on the doors, around the trunk and motor hood. But I’ve found insects will infest bumpers, gas cap compartments and wheel wells so you should spray them as well.

FS MP is fast acting so any you spray will die within 10-20 seconds. And it flushes which means it will spook out hidden boxelder bugs if you get the treatment within 1-2 feet of their location. Now if you see any emerging from remote areas, be sure to treat these locations. Even if the spot appears to be really minute. They can and will take advantage of these tight location. In fact, they strive to find them.

Next, you can either leave the treatment on the car or wash it off within an hour. I had no staining or residue noticeable on my car so I choose to leave it. By leaving it on the cart, you’ll have a residual in place that will repel them so they won’t return. And if they do, they’ll die. Treatments will wash off in the rain anyway but if its dry out, they can last 1-2 weeks.

Now if you have some kind of  “special” paint job and don’t want to risk leaving it on to avoid finish issues, wash it off.

QTY

 

But keep in mind that if you choose to wash it off, its highly likely more will come around to nest since the car will be full of boxelder scent. This smell is not noticeable to people but boxelder bugs are naturally drawn to it and they can detect it from an acre away or more.

So to stop this from happening, spray the areas where they were nesting with PEST AWAY. This spray uses food grade actives which nuisance insects don’t like. They’ll avoid where the spray has been applied. Pest Away won’t kill anything but it will keep the boxelder bugs away so they don’t infest the car again.

Add 2 oz of Pest Away per 1 gallon of water to start. And you can spray it on with a small spray bottle mixing 1 oz per 32 oz. You can also mix some up and then use a rag or sponge to dab it onto the areas where they’re nesting.

Followup 3 weeks later. After the second treatment, the boxelders should “rerout” to another yard but if they continue to hang around, renew treatments as often as they return.

QTY

 

In summary, use the FS MP Aerosol to kill active boxelder bugs and leave it on to repel anymore from moving onto the car. But if you want to remove the FS MP, you can. At that point, consider getting some Pest Away to make sure they don’t return once the FS MP is removed.

Give us a call if you need more help. Our toll free is 1-800-877-7290 and we’re open 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Mon-Thur, Eastern Standard Time.

Jonathan
Customer Care
https://bugspray.com
1-800-877-7290

PS: Please show your support for our business by purchasing the items we recommend from the links provided. Remember, this is the only way we can stay around and be here to answer your questions and keep our web site up and running. Thanks for your business!