It’s October in Saskatchewan, and if your home has a sunny south- or west-facing wall, you’ve probably seen them: clusters of black-and-red bugs soaking up the last warmth of the season, squeezing through window frames, and showing up inside just when the cold hits. Around here most people call them maple bugs — they’re boxelder bugs, and this is their peak season.
Green Pest Control keeps them out with eco-friendly exterior treatments and professional entry-point sealing, in Regina, Saskatoon, and the surrounding communities we serve.
Why maple bugs are invading right now
Boxelder bugs feed on the seeds of maple and boxelder trees all summer. When temperatures drop in the fall, they move to the warmest surface they can find — usually the sun-facing walls of nearby homes — and start hunting for cracks and gaps to overwinter in. They don’t bite, they don’t reproduce indoors, and they don’t damage your house. But once they’re inside your walls, they come out on warm winter days, stain curtains and siding when squished, and keep returning every fall.
The single most effective prevention, backed by university extension experts: seal their entry points before the gathering starts. October is the window — act now, before the cold drives them in.
What actually works (and what doesn’t)
- Sealing entry points — caulking cracks around windows, doors, and siding gaps, repairing torn screens. This is the one step that keeps working year after year.
- Exterior perimeter treatment — a targeted, eco-friendly residual treatment on the sun-facing walls where they gather stops them before they get in. Indoor spraying alone misses the point: new bugs keep arriving from outside.
- What we don’t do: there’s no need to tear walls apart or treat the whole interior. Maple bugs die out on their own over winter — the goal is simply keeping the next wave outside.
Our maple bug service
- We inspect your home’s exterior for the gaps and entry points they’re using.
- We apply an eco-friendly residual treatment to the walls where they cluster.
- We seal the entry points we find and give you a checklist for the rest.
- Depending on the level of pressure at your property, we may need to return for an additional treatment to eliminate them 100%.
Serving Regina, Saskatoon, and all 17 communities on our Cities We Serve page.
What you can do today
- Walk your sun-facing walls and seal visible cracks with caulk.
- Repair or replace damaged window screens.
- Vacuum up bugs that get inside — don’t squish them (they stain).
Then call us at (306) 716-6900 and we’ll handle the rest before the cold sets in.
Frequently asked questions
Do maple bugs bite? No. Boxelder bugs don’t bite people or pets.
Will they damage my home? No structural damage. The nuisance is the staining and the sheer numbers, plus the ones that emerge indoors on warm winter days.
Do they go away on their own? The indoor ones die off over winter, but the same house gets re-invaded every fall unless entry points are sealed. That’s why sealing matters more than any single spray.
How long does your treatment last? The exterior residual treatment protects through the fall invasion season. Sealing is permanent. In heavy-pressure years we may recommend a second visit.
Do you serve my town? We cover Regina, Saskatoon, and 17 Saskatchewan communities — see our Cities We Serve page.
