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Walking Sticks - Help!!!! They're eating us to ruin!!!

tuesdayschild
17 years ago

Hi all, What a nightmare here!!!!

My neighbors and I are going wild. We have been invaded by Walking Sticks -- If you've never heard of 'em, there's a good reason, they come from India and southeast Asia. They are of the order Phasmida (formerly grouped w/ Orthoptera [grasshoppers, crickets, etc.]), full-grown adults are about 6 1/2 inches long and 1/2 as big around as a pencil with long gawky legs, when still, they are almost indistinguishable from a twig, witness their name. Here's a good picture of the things: http://www.animatedchildrenstories.com/Images/WalkingStickInsects.jpg here's another one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Medauroidea.extradentata.jpg

That skinny long little body doesn't have much room for a sophisticated or efficient digestive system. Instead they rely on quantity -- huge munchings in, big flow out: continuously. Pretty easy to see where they've been: leaf decimation, accompanied by viscous trail of goop. One full-grown spcecimen can denude 1/2 a rosebush in a night. Agggh!

After much research, I'm finding that we in La Jolla may, in fact, owe our infestation of these things to one 14 year-old who about 4 years ago bought them as _pets_ over the internet and then decided he didn't want them anymore and turned 'em loose. Each female holding some 100,000 eggs. Uh-huh. They liked it here, clearly.

OK, my neighbors and I have thousands of these things ranging from about 1 1/2" to 6 1/2" long chewing their way through our gardens. Balboa Park and the Zoo are apparently also suffering from an onslaught. According to their reports, the darned things appreciate over 80% of the zoos horticultural offerings as prime chow (verry bad for them, since they are committed to a no-pesticide approach, for obvious reasons). They have no natural predators here. Crows love 'em, but "sticks" (as their afficionados affectionately call them) are nocturnal and crows are diurnal, so that's not much help.

I have contacted the UC IPM extension about the problem, but the only advice that I have received so far has been to try Orthene over the whole area. We are very reluctant to blast the neighborhood with such a broad-spectrum killer. Yes, it would probably do in a lot of Walking Sticks. But it would also harm a lot of birds, and do in our entire, carefully cultivated array of beneficials (we have a lot of psyllid problems here between Eugenias and eucalyptus, not to mention the honey bee issues). We've worked hard to cultivate a strong beneficial insect population in this area and are verrrrry reluctant to louse it up, so have been avoiding the "Just blast it all and hope for the best." approach.

As a result, we can all be found doing a late-night Edward Scissorhands impression-- I'm out there with a big flashlight and a pair of scissors, snipping the suckers in half. So are many of my neighbors. We are, sad to say, losing the battle. Since every female is launching 100,000 eggs at a drop and the predators are few and far between (never thought I'd pray for a rat infestation in my life), our plants are being decimated. Roses, bay laurels, gardenias, orchids, you name it, they're loving it.

Snail bait (Deadline, Sluggo) has had no effect. Beer traps have had no effect. We even built sticky traps of boxes with their favorite leaves in them (none entered, no chewing). I've done a ton of internet searches on the things -- nothing tells me how to kill them. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to raising them, cuddling them, appreciating them. Nothing on how to kill them. I even posted a couple of questions on those forums. They were deleted. They don't want to talk about them as pests, only as pets. The only thing I could find on killing them was that if you raise them in a house, airfresheners/plugins/etc. can kill them as their respiratory system is "unprotected". I tried putting some Glade fresheners next to my rose bushes, but evidently the open air dissipates it enough that they don't avoid it. Accckkkkk!

Does anyone have any suggestions????? My followup query to the UC IPM extension regarding soil drench effectiveness (imidacloparid) has not rec'vd a response in oer 2 weeks, so I'm guessing they don't know. Has anyone had any success with anything in dealing with these things? One of my neighbor's gardener brought her a hawthorn branch that he'd cut off the tree that they could see over 50 of the things "frozen" on the branch trying to look like twigs.

They're winning so far and I don't know what to do -- any guesses? Any ideas who to ask? Helpppp!

Comments (91)

  • siren4105
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am SO glad i found this site!

    These little stick freaks are running rampage in our back yard. We have two cats that live in a "shed" (half of it is basically a screened in porch) and at least 2 of these freaky creatures are in there every day somehow! I'm not much for killing bugs just because they freak me out so I've just been capturing them and then throwing them back into the yard but it's getting to a point where i'm more focused on being caught off guard by one of these bugs than visiting with the cats! One was freaking HUGE! Like at least 5", AT LEAST. I had to make my husband go out there b/c it was such a nightmare to imagine this creature in there or even EXISTING! It's body was HUGE. So, i guess i need to do more than throw them out with a scolding if they're breeding so crazily.

    I will have nightmares for having to relive this ordeal. Which is why I'm looking up how to get rid of them at 11:45pm instead of sleeping. When i found these sites on raising them as pets i paled and shook to my core. Are you SERIOUS???

    I have read every post listed here and am so thankful that all of you have been so vocal. I will look into finding Spinosad in my area tomorrow. However, I am nervous for the effect it may have on my cats. I will cut down all shrubbery near their "cat house" and spray around the perimeter, i guess. But what if a stick bug gets into the Spinosad and then crawls into the cat house and the cats play with it?

    According to Wikipedia, Spinosad shows low toxicity when ingested by mammals (male rat LD50 = 3738 mg/kg) and no additional adverse effects from chronic exposure. Studies on spinosad show slight toxicity to birds, moderate toxicity to fish, and slight to moderate toxicity to aquatic invertebrates. However, it is highly toxic to bees (honey bee LC50 = 11.5 ppm) and is highly toxic to oysters and other marine mollusks.

    So I am assuming it won't harm my cats. I've never had to act on anything like this before, so I am just hesitant. Any advice? I know nothing of plants, or gardens, or backyards, or insects, and especially not killing them. I know that my problem is minimal in size compared to the ones already posted, but from what i've seen, this could become a serious problem. They all started somewhere small.

    I wonder if maybe some eggs were laid in the plant that the pet store sold to us as "live catnip". To me it was just a mint plant like my grandmother used to have in her yard. I read somewhere above that they are attracted to mint, right? Those other plants I'd never heard of but there are weeds around the perimeter as well. I will also chunk the mint plants, or whatever they call them.

    So I guess i should remove all of their play things (bed cushions, etc.) and give the place a good sweep to get rid of any eggs then, yes? Maybe even wash their stuff? Or is that unnecessary? I am SO freaked out by these creatures. I can handle pretty much anything else (except centipedes, they're my only other bug weakness) Enough about this. please post any comments or advice.

  • lali
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sorry, no help with the walking sticks issue, but I did find this about dispersing mantids

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantodea

    Introduced Species
    About 20 species are native to the United States, including the common Carolina mantis, and only one in Canada. Two species (the Chinese mantis and the European Mantis) were deliberately introduced to serve as pest control for agriculture, and have spread widely in both countries. While it is legal to keep native mantises as pets or to sell egg cases for gardening, non-native species are illegal to possess and release in the United States, under the Non Native Invasive Species Act of 1992.

  • tuesdayschild
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm chiming back in after some time off this thread. I wanted to report back on my observations/successes/failures since I first wailed for help.

    The walking sticks in _my yard_ have gone from a full-out killer-devastation invasion, to a major pest level. They are much reduced (that is to say that when I go out to snip them at 9 pm at night, I now typically snip about 15 to 20, most of which are either juveniles [1/2"-2"] or adolescents [3"-4"]). I have only snipped 4 full-bore adults (5-8") in the last 8 months in _my yard_ but I have to say that in my next-door neighbor's yard to the north, which I invaded last night for the first time in about 4 mos. I nailed 9 huge adults and about 40 juveniles. A long night....

    I am deducing that the things have migrated a bit and find his, relatively un-policed yard to the north a better place to hang than mine.

    I really can't tell you which part of the regime is working. I use Spinosad on a regular spraying basis now, every 3 weeks in winter, every week in summer. It's hard, because I only spray in the late afternoon/early evening (to avoid hitting anything I don't want to kill) and it plays merry hell in this coastal environment with my powdery mildew and rust control on the roses. I go out with the scissors every other week in winter, every three nights (if I'm being really good) in summer.

    No other spray has worked at all. I have even tried some experiments with other sprays (I am only willing to use the "safer" type: Safer, greenlight, etc.), capturing the things, putting them with their capturing branch into a terrarium, spraying them, and waiting for them to die:

    Safer insectacidal soap: No effect. At all. I believe the specimens may have died of malnutrition or thirst. They died about 6-8 days after spraying.

    Safer pyrethrin: Slowed 'em down, but the captive specimens were still moving (although unhappily) 4 days after spraying. Thirst? Hunger? Spray? who knows.

    Collected 70 adolescents (3"), put 'em in a blender with some water and a couple of blops of coco soap, sprayed the rose bed (the most favorite target) with the mix. No effect on walking sticks. Just as many romping around for two weeks after spraying. Probably too stupid to realize that they were running around on the corpses of their brethren. Total eruption of rust and powdery mildew on roses, as well as blackspot, which I'd never seen before in La Jolla. A very bad idea for roses.

    Spinosad (greenlight rose defense): Bugs dead in 4 hours in the terrarium.

    Mantids: Two years worth of releases of mantids each year 8 cases (supposedly a minimum of 200 per case): 4 in my yard, 4 with a cooperating neighbor to the south. A) the total count of mature mantids (over 4" in length) ever seen in our two yards was 4. Other than those big honkers, I never saw a mantid in my yard after the 3rd month following release. Did they die? Did they leave? Were they working under cover? Who knows. Were they a part of my success? Not a darn clue. Will I do it again next year.... yes. and I'll try to figure out a way to see if it is actually working.

    Have I found an answer: NO
    Am I having success: marginally, but not where it needs to be.
    Have I found any good resources: NO. Why in the name of all that is green and growing is no one researching or publishing on this -- Loook at my yard!!! Looook at my neighbors. Yeeek.

    My roses are still a mess, as are my gardenias and my brunfelsia. Chewing is still happening on a serious level. Not quite as epic as it was before but still really bad.

    Anyone else have any success stories, tips, anything else? These things are still on the rampage and I am damn tired of playing Edward Scissorhands every night (not to mention what stories the neighbors must be telling!)

  • Mikey
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the update. The Cypress branch of the Orange County Library has a large jar in the children section that is full of walking sticks, juvenile to adult. I just hope they don't allow kids to take them home.....

  • hosenemesis
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh, Tuesdayschild, my heart is breaking for you.
    Have you considered getting another hobby, hmmm... Nascar racing or something?
    Seriously, I'm writing my congressman tonight. And the Cypress branch of the OC Library, Mikey!
    And praying they don't make it here before I croak.
    Renee

  • megt
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am in Pt Loma, wooded area, and am having a stick bug attack. Years ago, I would see one here or there, usually dead, and move on with my life. I Googled them (as another poster did above) and saw that they make great pets.

    However, now that I have an active organic garden, I've noticed a flurry of babies all over my starts. They destroyed my brussel spouts, broccoli starts, stripped my roses, and hide in the lavendar. What started as a mild amusement is now full-fledged frustration. I now have to use Safer Pyrethrin on my garden (poo!) and am not sure that is working. I am reluctant to try Spinozad because they may harm honey bees. I haven't seen many bees lately, and I'm thankful for the ones we have.

    I guess it will be 'handpicking' for now - they DO love hanging out in lavender during the day. I spray the plants and get them soaked, and all the sticks crawl upwards . That's when I grab them.

    If someone wants DEAD ones to show kids, you are more than welcome to mine.

  • toyo2960
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dimilid sounds like a good answer. It has been used successfully on controlling grasshoppers. It is growth inhibitor and inhibits the insects chitin during molting. However, I have yet to find a retailer who sells this stuff. Right now it is available as in ingredient in koi pond pest control. And fly abatement. There is a big debate over the use of Dimilid in New Jersey as they control the gypsy moth. Growth inhibitors can affect other chitinous animals. And whether such genetic modifiers do harm the environment and other animals. But when I spray for scale, I go right for Enstar II, another growth inhibitor. It works wonders. BT only works on caterpillars. Pyrethrins don't work. Nor does Malathion. Seven or Orthene does work. But because of such a bad infestation, you really need to have the ag department come out and do something. The last thing we need in our area is something like Illinois and the Emerald Ash Borer. I really don't think that mantids will do anything to get rid of these walking sticks. These animals grow large. There is no natural predator. Where is APHIS when you need them. I import orchids and its a hassle to get phytosanitary documents. Some kid buys a invasive insect over the internet. Just hope you folks keep these critters from traveling north to LA.

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dimilin is readily available as a medication for Koi parasites (anchor worm/fish lice). Many koi dealers sell it.

  • carolynray_gmail_com
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just found this thread because I was looking up walking sticks, which are currently hanging out in my garden. I'm only 4 years 'late' with this advice, but the web--and this question--are eternal, so here goes:

    My favorite 'insecticide' is a mixture of primarily Canola oil, a small amount of Volck oil to decrease stickiness of Canola and act as an emulsifier in a water suspension, and a couple of drops of grease-dispersing dish detergent such as original Dawn or Joy. My mix is approximate. If you are loading this into a hose-end sprayer, use approximately these amounts:

    1 pint Canola oil
    4-5 tablespoons Volck dormant season oil
    3 drops Dawn or Joy

    Do not use more detergent than this, as it will clump with the oil and clog your sprayer.

    Set your sprayer to a dilution rate of about 2-5 tablespoons--it's best if you get a sprayer like a Gilmore brass one, so that you can instantly adjust the rate while you are spraying. Delicate plants like Fuchsias with gall mites would get less, Eugenia with psyllids and sooty mold would get more.

    For small-scale applications, you can also put this mixture into a quart bottle of water with the following recipe:

    2-3 tablespoons Canola
    1 tablespoon Volck
    1 drip Joy or Dawn

    YOU MUST DILUTE THIS OIL WITH WATER. If you spray the straight oil directly on your plants the leaves will deep-fry in the sun.

    This mixture WILL kill the walking sticks, if it coats some portion of their surface area.

    In fact, it kills any insect that it contacts.

    The worst drawback is that it will kill the beneficials insects and arachnids you've been cultivating--anything that breathes through its skin. No, it won't kill any higher organism such as birds, raccoons, or dogs, even if they lick it. Just don't spray the birds' nests, as it is unknown whether it will harm the eggs if it coats them. You can kill birds' eggs with plain water so, use common sense with the oil.

    So my suggestions are these:

    Before spraying with the oil mixture, make sure there are no birds' nests. Gently spray the Stick-infested plants with plain water. This will chase away adult green lace wings or parasitic wasps or any beneficial that can fly. Before they can come back, spray the oil solution on the plants. You're going to lose beneficial larvae and eggs, but at least you will be killing most of the psyllids, their young, and their eggs, and sooty mold and powdery mildew as well. (Yes, it will kill rusts on roses and help prevent them from coming back anywhere from one to 5 months depending on the season.)

    This treatment is the most effect I have ever used, as a professional and in my own garden. While the oil doesn't exactly have a lasting protective effect, nevertheless it is so much more effective (and safer!) than toxic insecticides that I don't understand why anyone continues to use those. I would never never never use a systemic insecticide, ever; in fact, when my clients use them I refuse to work in the garden for 6 months. I am always suspicious of any insecticide's claim of long-term effectiveness--scary.

    I used to use paraffinic oil, until it was taken off the market. I'm sad about that loss and what it says about how much we care for the environment. But actually, I'm kind of glad that I was forced to come up with an alternative because the treatment I'm suggesting above is even more effective and longer-lasting than the paraffinic oil. It's a little less convenient because you have to put it together yourself, but it's also a lot cheaper--on the order of 10 times. And it doesn't dry out your hands as much as paraffinic oil does.

    (YES, the oil kills caterpillars too. When nurseries or web sites tell you that only Bacillus thuringiensis works on caterpillars, they don't know what they are talking about. Actually, I think they either just want to sell you this expensive and highly-irritating product, or they don't understand the logic of the word 'only'. It is true that b. thuringesis ONLY kills caterpillars, so if you want a targeted weapon for caterpillars on a particular plant, you can use that. Wear face- and hand-coverings. :)

    Note: The reason that I don't use straight Volck dormant season oil mixed with water, is that it is too potent and too drying. The plants don't like it at all, if they have leaves on them, which they almost always do in San Diego. You can dilute it and spray it on a Citrus after you've buckhorned it, but I find it has limited use in San Diego. And again, it's a lot more expensive than Canola.

    Plain canola is too sticky. The plants get coated with it and it never comes off. Meanwhile it sits on them collecting dirt and making them look terrible, and eventually the dirt can block their light. And because it's hanging around getting old, it makes your garden smell like a well-used kitchen. Gardens should smell like flowers, right?

    And the reason that I use Canola (instead of olive or peanut, for example) is that it is the lightest cooking oil available at a reasonable price (you can get a gallon of it for $8.00, and a gallon kills A LOT of pests.).

    For white fly, make sure you thoroughly saturate their webbing, or else the ones inside the dry webbing will be protected. Same for mealy bugs. It won't kill insects underground because it doesn't coat them, so it won't be effective for June bug larvae.
    Yes, it will kill ants, but only the ones it touches, not the whole colony; usually killing the line of ants entering the house is sufficient to turn the colony's sights to safer places.

    Hope all this helps.

    Carolyn

  • jerif
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I also live in LJ and I'm at my wit's end with these insects! They have eaten everything. I am spraying with spinosad but don't want to over use. I also have a white fly infestation that won't quit. I've cut my hibiscus down to stubs but they have invaded my fruit trees and rosemary. Not to MENTION rats in the bougainvillea which we had to put bait stations down for. What an ongoing, frustrating mess, it's taken all the fun out of growing things.

  • wildingm_sbcglobal_net
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have many, many stick insects in my yard in Mission Hills. I have an organic vegetable garden, so I don't use systemic insecticides. I have used green or castile soap (ask your pharmacist) diluted with water (just a tablespoon or so in 1-2 cups of water) and sprayed them. They die, although the larger ones die slowly. I've noticed that they do not like most aromatic plants. Don't bother gingers, herbs, salvias, buddelia, California lilac, and may other California natives. They also don't seem to bother my large established roses. Mulch around my vegetable plants seems to discourage them, and they don't get on the vegetables, maybe because of this. They like brushy plants with many branches close to the ground. When I find such a plant full of the insects, I spray with water to flush them out, spray with soap to kill them, and take the plant out of the garden. Everything grows in San Diego, so there are many replacements available. I have also done the flashlight/water bucket technique (thanks to this page). It works, but I find it unpleasant. I much appreciate this page. I think we are stuck with these things, and I would welcome any other ideas that avoid insecticides.

  • wensull
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just found this thread and read with fascination and horror. Bad news--they're moving north. We live in Berkeley, CA. About a year ago we started noticing the odd stick insect resting during the day on a wall or stair. Thinking as many others have they were benign even helpful I dutifully moved them out of harm's way onto a plant and thought no more about it.

    This spring, our one miniature rose bush was shredded. Then, a few weeks later, I started noticing our lush morning glory that covers a fence was being eaten to bare stems. I put out snail repellent, no luck. Finally I noticed when I watered the morning glory a few week ago that a mess of walking sticks swarmed out of holes among the root base, 5" adults and hundreds of white babies down to 1/2". Yuck.

    I haven't yet taken offensive action but now that I have a chemical to try, I certainly will. This is a dangerous pest that even our excellent local nursery has no idea about. When I asked whether walking sticks could be the cause of my morning glory infestation they told me with authority that walking sticks don't eat foliage. Riiiiiiiight.

  • wcgypsy
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would also think that nurseries in areas that are being hit hard with Walking Sticks would not want to speak too loudly about the problem. I don't want to buy from nurseries in areas with a lof of 'sticks'.I've bought a couple of plants from those areas, but inspect the plants very carefully and watch for the possibility of eggs hatching. Any nursery that truly knows what's what should be quite aware of the problem by now.

  • LizzyLovesToDance
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I completely understand the dangers of releasing walking sticks into the wild. I am unsure of how to kill them in larger numbers like what you have, But perhaps you could try talking to wildlife or botany specialists in your area about the threat they pose to the other insect population and the plants in the area? Also, I have been considering humane methods of euthanization for my small collection of Walking sticks. I have the Vietnamese species which are slightly larger than the Indian variety however I do not wish to keep them as I was unaware of the number of eggs females produce when they were given to me by a relative. I haven't got the space in my home to keep their offspring. I have 3 females. They have not finished molting yet, I have one on her 3rd molt, One on her 1st, and one who hasn't started molting yet. Any help on how to kindly kill off my bugs before they become a problem? Thanks!

  • hosenemesis
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Personally, if I was the bug, I'd prefer the guillotine to all other methods. Even as a person the guillotine sounds a lot better than being shot or electrocuted. A sharp pair of scissors would do it. Once the spinal cord is severed, no pain is felt.

    If you are too squeamish, you can put them in the freezer. Some people euthanize fish that way. Double bag them before you put them outdoors in the trash, please. We don't want to see your garden infested! Good luck.
    Renee

  • LizzyLovesToDance
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've been considering both of those methods, but I am worried about hurting them, Since I've grown to love them a bit. Thank you!

  • jzinboyz
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Can you send some to me? I work at a school and would love to use walking sticks for educational puposes.

  • hosenemesis
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Use praying mantids, jzinboyz. You can buy the egg cases and the kids can watch them hatch. They are much cooler, anyway.
    If your students accidentally let walking sticks out into a new neighborhood it would be a catastrophe. Instead, you could assign them to write an essay on how destructive imported pests are and how they should never, ever buy any, and if they do, they should never, ever let them loose but should return them to the place of purchase. Most children prefer writing essays to holding walking sticks anyway :D
    Renee

  • jzinboyz
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the suggestion hosenemesis. I have been using praying mantises for several years and they are alot of fun but the kids have come to expect them so I would like to try something a little different. I thought walking sticks or large beetles would be fun. I have a reallyh secure/controlled room for the walking sticks and am not too worried about them getting out, and not sure they would last too long in a minnesota environment. So if there is anyone out there that would be willing to send me some that would be great.

  • Dick_Sonia
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You will need a USDA permit to move walking sticks from one state to another, even for educational purposes.

  • Mikey
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've been watching this thread for several years fearing they would soon appear in my garden. So far, so good.

  • knitting2
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I realize several years have gone by since the first post on this problem but I just wanted to report that my yard in Northern Louisiana is also suffering from a walking stick infestation. My whole family goes out in the yard every night armed with flashlights and clippers. For three weeks we have killed anywhere from 5 to 20 each night. When we cut them they give off a bad smelling powdery substance. They're quite disgusting and the whole experience is not conducive to getting a good night's sleep! We are going to try to flush more out tonight by giving the plants a good soak 30 minutes or so before going out. Also, I've noticed they only eat certain plants. They are destroying the 6 ft aucubas, gardenias, and vinca. I'm dedicated to finding a way to kill them off. Any recent ideas? I hope to avoid pesticides.

  • Min3 South S.F. Bay CA
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kudos to you and your family for not using pesticides. I hope you have a very successful hunt tonight! Min

  • hosenemesis
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Good luck, knitting. I don't know any new ways to kill them- you are doing it right.
    Renee

  • growingboy
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wonder if they ever tried spraying with neem oil. It should only kill the insects that suck or eat the leaves.

  • andrew09342
    8 years ago

    The way to kill a walking stick is to fight fire with fire. Use a stick or a long weed to lead the bug to another spot.(I would recommend concrete or semement), then to kill the bug, use fire, or repeativly stomp on it with a 20 lb object repeativly.No a normal shoe will not kill it.

  • mombomoss
    8 years ago

    I had an infestation of stick bugs in my fairy garden. I sprinkled ground black pepper on the tops of the leaves and the stick bugs have gone! Yay!!

  • stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
    8 years ago

    Why not sticky traps hung all over (for the start)? Or even those sticky mouse traps..no 'stick is going to get away from those.

  • gyr_falcon
    8 years ago

    Why not the sticky traps? One very good reason is that they also catch the desirable animals too, such as birds, lizards frogs and toads. It is heartbreaking to try everything you can think of to remove the living animals from those sticky traps, and fail. Please don't use them for this type of application.

  • stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
    8 years ago

    Well,maybe if used judiciously. In the shrubbery..too high for ground creatures,not where birds would land. and where the 'sticks are at a infestation level- not one here or there. It is non toxic to everything after all.

    At the least- the yellow sticky cards would do a number on young 'sticks.

  • Min3 South S.F. Bay CA
    8 years ago

    I totally agree, Gyr-Falcon. Sticky traps are just one of the diabolically cruel things invented by humans to wage war against wildlife and just like wars against other humans, there is a lot of collateral damage to innocent wildlife. Min

  • stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
    8 years ago

    You could just ask the 'sticks to leave...

  • Tiffany Lathrop
    8 years ago

    Mombomoss, black pepper huh? I'll be trying that. They haven't been completely annoying for me yet because I have a small garden and it's all in pots off the ground, but I see one or two here and there and just one can and has decimated a plant overnight.

  • parker25mv
    8 years ago

    If you take measures to encourage birds to come visit your yard, the birds can help keep some of these insects in check. Might sound strange to some of you, but in my yard we have a lot of lizards; I have seen them eating mosquitoes in the morning. In Southeast Asia bats are a major predator of Walking Stick insects; with their big ears and echolocation, bats are not fooled by the insect's visual camouflage.

  • Tiffany Lathrop
    8 years ago

    I've definitely put some thought into that, but I dont think my apartment management would like me doing much in the way of putting out bird feeders or food. Living in the city we already have pest problems with mice and rats.. :-\ It's literally just my little balcony, we're not even allowed to hang anything on or around them or I'd already have windchimes, a hummingbird feeder, abd bird feeder up. Thank you for your input though

  • Cindy Page
    8 years ago

    Now we have them - all over! We are in wooded area of Point Loma. Has anyone tried geckos? I will try the black pepper and nightly rounds with scissors and a glass of wine. :)

  • free2bebrian
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Just to add to the geographic info, we're in Pacific Grove, CA, and we've had a few years with a few sticks. At first I would just move them off the plants I wanted to keep. Then I realized they were not native, had no predators, and could become bad news. They have multiplied...and now I see the error of my somewhat Buddhist ways.

  • mdjaloha
    7 years ago

    They are in Ventura/Port Hueneme, happily eating my first year to bloom plumeria!! l am mad!! They are yucky and now seeing more than last year. Ordered pesticide and will try soap!

  • jn91871sf
    7 years ago

    i did not know walking sticks were bad, i thought they were like praying mantis, so now I know. I found a couple in my yard and one small one got in the house so thinking it was "a good bug" I left them alone and carefully let the small one out to the garden, so now I know , get rid of them. I just saw one yesterday near my cymbidiums, maybe that's what chewed off some buds.

  • gyr_falcon
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    The introduced/exotic walking sticks are the problem. I would not harm the native species. If you haven't already, first thing determine which species of walking sticks are in your garden. http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74157.html

  • free2bebrian
    7 years ago

    They are very endearing...but, you have to make a choice of kill or allow them to feast and spread. I used to put them in the yard waste recycle, but then realized (after reading this thread) that they would then move to others' gardens. Hard for me, but I snip their heads off as I find them, and so far they remain small in number...I tried spraying neem oil as that is what I use for other pests, and it seemed to discourage their proliferation. Still find a few of various sites when I'm out there tending the garden. Their favorite spot is the Peruvian lilies! Good luck folks.

  • saschja
    6 years ago

    Dear "free2bebrian" You say you are in Pacific Grove, Ca - well so am I ! And I have a bad infestation in my organic vegetable garden and fruit trees. What started as 2 or 3 a few years ago has multiplied into unbelievable numbers. I would love to communicate more with you. My next door neighbors have a problem with the sticks eating their fruit trees, also. This is terrifying! So far the only thing we've tried is the midnight flashlight routine. We have green ones and brown ones of all sizes. Do you also? Wish I knew more about them. For instance, are the green and brown ones the same species? Hope to hear from you.

  • kennethreyes109
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Are they past the bridge in SF In California? If they get to American Canyon, Napa it’s gonna suck bad. They’ll eat all the grape vines and everyone’s garden here too :( if they didn’t cross the bridge yet good. That may be the only barrier my side of the place has keeping these stick bugs away. If they do get here I guess free pets I guess as my mom and I always loved bugs

  • saschja
    6 years ago

    No, the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge can not stop them because they arrive on plants that people buy from stores and nurseries. That is how ours arrived in our yard. From here they spread, yes, they can really walk a long way! This problem is just starting to unleash itself on a vast area and almost NO ONE knows about it yet!

  • free2bebrian
    6 years ago

    Saschja, I just now saw this comment from you in July......never got a notice in e-mail. So sorry to have not responded. You can e-mail me directly at free2bebrian and the @ and then gmail.com. My name is Jan. We still have walking sticks, but have managed to keep them limited. Takes a lot of plucking. The best remedy I found is watering the plants and watching for them moving out of the wet zone. They don't like water. Then I grab them and either kill them, which I hate doing, or put them in the yard waste bin. The problem with not killing them is the risk that they just get put somewhere else via the yard waste recycling. Mostly I suck up my buddhist impulses and kill them. But its hard. Write to me and we can talk directly. The brown and green are the same, just adjusted to the different color plant part they are on usually. So sorry you have a major infestation. Not a good sign for PG. Jan

  • kennethreyes109
    6 years ago

    I just checked my grandmas roses, I wanted one as a pet so I know they eat that too, and I did see a few holes in the leaves. Most likely not stick insects as I never seen one here in CA or past the GSB. When I get the chance to walk around I will check the bramble plants and privet plants for stick insects. I live Napa and never seen one :/

  • saschja
    6 years ago

    Be SO careful! They multiply by the thousands so rapidly. If just one gets out they will eventually devour everything! They are all females and they lay thousands of eggs and they don't need males to reproduce. They have destroyed whole forests! The eggs are very tiny and can last a very long time and spread these pests that have no natural enemies in North America. WATCH OUT!

  • Jon Griffey
    3 years ago

    I work the second shift so I am home by 1230 am or so. Ever night I have killed or removed from my yard at least three or so with infants on their back. Dont know why they have become a nuisance since the last year. Not sure why they like my house or yard. It totally flabbergasts me of how many I have felt with in the last few months.

  • Jon Griffey
    3 years ago

    Spray them with anything that is bug related. It will kill them. Even brake cleaner will do the job just because of the chemicals in it.