Hi Susan, I too have had these bugs (and they are true bugs) everywhere. We have a hoard of Siberian elms in our neighborhood and the bugs are true to their name. The best advice I can give to is: to control the bugs, control the seeds. It may seem simplistic but for me, at least, it seemed to work. We had veritable dunes of seeds piling up in our yard and along our fence two years ago accompanied by a major infestation of elm seed bugs. Last year I swept up every seed I could find consistently for several weeks while they were coming off the trees. Threw them straight into the trash. There were still plenty of bugs around but not the absolute swarms I had seen the year before. I kept the same standard this year of eliminating every one of those little papery seeds and so far the bug population is manageable.
Best of luck to you. Katy Katharine Corneli Collections Manager | Conservator Prehistoric Museum<https://eastern.usu.edu/museum/> Office: 435-613-5765 Email: katharine.corn...@usu.edu<mailto:katharine.corn...@usu.edu> [cid:14962061-2FAF-4E35-AB43-45898538268B] From: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Susan Buce Sent: Monday, June 28, 2021 4:09 PM To: pestlist@googlegroups.com Subject: [EXT] [PestList] Elm Seed bugs I have an infestation of elm seed bugs at home. They showed up a few years back in my back yard, then began invading my house. This year is the worst it’s ever been. I have elm trees across the road that spew seed pods like a blizzard in Montana and they cover every inch of the ground during the spring. The bug numbers are in the hundreds. They leave dark spots around the doorframes and windowsills and crawl in every crack and crevice. I am spending hours each night vacuuming them up and wiping down my front door. As far as I can tell, these bugs are native to Europe and first showed up in 2009 in the states. I’m in Oregon and I think I’ve probably been seeing them since about 2016. They are getting into EVERYTHING, my hair, my clothes… I am afraid I am inadvertently going to bring a mating pair who have set up shop in my purse or a pocket into the museum. I cannot find any useful advice online at to how to deal with these bugs. I’m trying to understand how to discourage them – and whether they can be destructive to museum objects. As far as I can tell they don’t eat paper or cloth… but they DO poop and leave dark spots on EVERYTHING. Does anyone have experience with these annoying critters? Should I be worried? I’ve attached a picture I found on the internet. Susan Buce, Museum Registrar Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum 5000 Discovery Drive The Dalles, Oregon 97058 collecti...@gorgediscovery.org<mailto:collecti...@gorgediscovery.org> 541-296-8600 ext. 242 www.gorgediscovery.org<http://www.gorgediscovery.org/> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/ecd0e40b2bf3ef9a59e006cccc72a22f%40mail.gmail.com<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/ecd0e40b2bf3ef9a59e006cccc72a22f%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. CAUTION: This email originated from outside of USU. If this appears to be a USU employee, beware of impersonators. Do not click links, reply, download images, or open attachments unless you verify the sender’s identity and know the content is safe. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/BYAPR07MB499835198F56325D056C050AEA029%40BYAPR07MB4998.namprd07.prod.outlook.com.
