They appear seemingly from nowhere, massing on walls or windows, buzzing around the room, landing on furniture, your arm, your computer monitor.

Several species of insects invade homes in the fall and remain through the winter, often hidden inside walls. When temperatures rise in the spring, they appear again, this time trying to get out. During the winter they just hang out, waiting for spring.

Don't worry! None of these six-legged invaders causes disease, bites, stings, or attacks stored foods, the home's structure, or its furnishings.

To learn more, check out our new fact sheet, Seasonal Insect Invaders in New Hampshire Homes, by Extension entomologist Alan Eaton. It profiles five seasonal insect invaders: cluster flies, boxelder bugs, multi-colored Asian ladybugs, western conifer seed bugs, and a newcomer on the scene, the brown marmorated stinkbug.

You'll be hearing more about the brown marmorated stinkbug as its numbers increase and it spreads beyond the Seacoast towns where it first showed up last summer. While it won't cause indoor problems, the new stinkbug has caused significant damage to fruit and vegetable crops in parts of the nation where it has become better established.

Seasonal Insect Invaders in New Hampshire Homes

Photo of Western conifer seed bug by Alan Eaton