The bugs may stain curtains, paper and similar furnishings with fecal spots. These insects produce little or no odor when crushed. Host Plants Boxelder bugs feed primarily on seeds of female boxelder trees. Minor hosts include plum, cherry, apple, peach, grape, chinaberry, western soapberry, ash and maple. Fruits of these plants may be damaged by boxelder bugs.
Young fruit is scarred or dimpled by their feeding.
Mature fruit is quite often fed upon after it falls to the ground. These alternate host plants are not likely to be the source of migrating bugs. Jadera haematoloma has been found on a number of hosts, but the role these plants play in this bug's development is uncertain. Hosts include arborvitae, chinaberry, western soapberry, ash, cotton, grain sorghum, and bluebonnets. These bugs should not be considered damaging to the host plants.