Let me start by saying that I would never EVER question God about His creations. He “created all creatures great and small” (according to the Cecil Frances Alexander poem). That being said, I often wonder just what the purpose of mosquitoes are, and hate when I get mosquito bites. I’m not too fond of all the bees that seem to love being in my yard either, but I know that they certainly serve a purpose.

For the past few months, there is another creature that is driving me crazy – box elder bugs.

It is the dead of winter and these pesky things are all over the place! Shouldn’t they all be dead!? I am not lying when I say that on average, I kill about 10 of these things daily inside our house. Personally, I think the sole purpose of these things is to annoy people. I despise them! I am ashamed to admit the joy that I get out of squishing them in a tissue and flushing them down the toilet!

I wish I knew how they were getting in the house. I read somewhere that they like to hang out in maple trees. So I would imagine the maple tree that is next to our house is the source of them. I have seen plenty of “home remedies” for how to kill them once they are in the house, but honestly, squishing them gives me a sense of satisfaction.

What I can’t seem to find is a good way to keep them out. A few years ago, the issue was lady bugs. Believe it or not, we’re getting those too! Thankfully, the stink bugs haven’t been around for awhile. I remember having issues with them at my other house years ago. I know there are some things you can spread or spray around your house to prevent pests from coming in, but none are specific to box elder bugs. I would welcome a sure fire way to get rid of them!

Thank you for listening to my rant.

I suppose that I will be spending a lot of time outside caulking windows this spring .