The state of Idaho has been inundated by an
invasive species, the elm seed bug — and by calls from across the country from
people afflicted by the foreign insects.
It all started a few weeks ago
when locals noticed a particularly pesky bug crawling around.
“At first there were just a few here and
there,” said Idaho resident and employee of the state’s Department of
Agriculture, Stephen Cox. “I just assumed they were like the other box elder
bugs in the area. I didn’t think much about it.”
But then, by the hundreds, the bugs began
infiltrating Cox’s home.
“The numbers were getting bigger and bigger
and then we had a heat wave. It was about 105 degrees and they decided to move
into the house,” Cox said. “Hundreds and hundreds at a time and then
thousands.”
What started out as a nuisance became what
Cox describes as “a real problem.”
“I’d vacuum them up but they were on every
door, every wall. The windows were covered,” he said. “They’d drop on your head
every time you opened the door. They’d fall onto your plate in the middle of
dinner.”
Other residents took notice too. Idaho State
Department of Agriculture researchers determined that the bug wasn’t the box
elder bug, which is common in the area.
“We got official confirmation on July 12 that
the bugs are elm seed bugs,” said Pamm Juker, communications director for the
Idaho State Department of Agriculture. “They come from central and southern
Europe. We don’t have any idea how they got to Idaho at this point.”
Juker says the invasive insect is about a
quarter inch long and brown, resembling the box elder bug in shape. If
crushed, they emit an odor.
She also says that while the bugs are a
nuisance, they are not harmful. They do eat the seeds from trees but not plants
or the trees themselves.
“They may try to enter your home in the
summer when it’s hot and in the winter to escape the cold, but they pose no
threat to humans,” she said.
The Idaho Department of Agriculture has been
overwhelmed by calls from people from all over the country claiming they have
seen the bug.
“Just in the last few days, we’ve gotten
calls from people in South Carolina, West Virginia, Illinois, New Jersey,
Oklahoma, Montana, Nevada, Connecticut, California, Michigan, Washington, and
Oregon,” she said.
Cox said that if you see an elm seed bug in
your area, contact your local officials.
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