Maple bugs are harmless, but here’s how to get rid of the pests

With the colder temperatures, maple bugs are trying to find warmth, and this includes inside or around your home.

Rick Van Duyvendyk, owner of Dutch Growers and co-host of the weekly Garden Talk show on CJME and CKOM, has a few preferred methods for getting rid of the bug.

“They’re easy to take care of because you can either blast them just with cold water, or just in a sprayer with some soap and water,” he said. “That’ll get them.”

A less messy cleanup involves a vacuum. Van Duyvendyk said he goes around with his shop vac and vacuums the critters up in bunches.

“I’ve been doing that every day and just keeping the numbers down around the house,” he said. They die in the bag and the canister and just throw it away. It works really well just to clean up the numbers quickly.”

Van Duyvendyk said it’s best to avoid squishing the bugs because they release a foul smell that can attract other maple bugs.

“That’s why I like to vacuum, because it keeps them clean and easy to do with just a little shop vac,” he said. “That way you don’t have to worry about all these little bugs hanging around the stink from them.”

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Van Duyvendyk said the bugs have been on the rise for the last couple of years.

“They go in cycles,” he said. “Sometimes they’re worse than other years, just like the tent caterpillar or grasshoppers. They’ve been pretty bad the last few years.”

The bugs are harmless and do not bite.

“They hang out on maple trees and will just suck on the leaves,” he said. “As long as the trees have moisture during the year, they can handle the bug.”

Van Duyvendyk said you can use a pyrethrin spray around the foundation of your house, but not on the siding.

“You can put it on the concrete or the foundation,” he said.

He said you can get the spray at any local garden centre.

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