maryanne

http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brownMarmoratedstinkbug.htm

apparently, they are everywhere. i've been googling them when someone finally said they are called stink bugs and they are everywhere.

Stink bugs don't really stink, but they do have an odor if you touch them or crush them. I think they look like little dinosaurs and they sound like a little helicopter when they fly.

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is a fairly new species imported from the Far East (e.g., Taiwan, Japan, Korea) which was first discovered in Allentown, Pa., in 2001. It has subsequently been found in New Jersey. It is an ornamental and agricultural pest, which like some stink bug species, find homes and buildings an attractive place to overwinter. Seeing stink bugs inside on warm winter days is not uncommon. As this species begins to spread, its prominence as an overwintering structural pest will increase.

Outside, stink bugs feed on many types of plants. They are usually attracted to buildings during the fall seeking a protected, warm site to overwinter. During warm winter days and in the spring, one or more stink bugs may "awaken" and find their way into the living spaces of the home.

Once inside walls, stink bugs may be difficult, if not impossible, to totally eliminate. Prevention is the best strategy by sealing exterior cracks and holes on the home’s exterior. Equip vents with tight-fitting insect screens, also.

If stink bugs are already inside walls, you can seal cracks inside and around window and door frames to deny the bugs access to the interior parts of your home. Where large numbers are entering an attic or false ceiling, ask your pest professional to place an insect light trap in the space to help capture most of the bugs before they can enter the rooms below.

Do not spray the stink bugs because carpet beetles will then come to eat the dead stink bugs and they are a real problem eating woolens, etc.

I always remembered seeing the green ones but, yeah, the greyish-brown ones have been coming on like gangbusters.

They're mostly harmless and, IMHO, kinda cute. Twice, however, I found them swimming in my coffee at my old office in West Philly (old building, plenty of places for them to get in).

I saw plenty of them this past summer and fall, but they didn't seem to do any damage to my shrubs.

rhody, in my search of these bugs, i did find pretty much the same of what you posted. i just hope they aren't laying eggs anywhere that i'm stuck with them for life.

ann, i wonder if what makes the bug stink released something in your cat's belly. hope he/she is feeling better.

Just kidding, but stink bugs are common in Texas:

Southern green stink bug - Nezara viridula
Rice stink bug - Oebalus pugnax
Conchuela stink bug - Chlorochroa ligata
Brown stink bug - Euschistus servus
Harlequin bug - Murgantia histrionica
Spined shouldered stink bug - Podisus maculiventris
and soon the Brown marmorated stink bug - Halyomorpha halys

George

I never saw the ones I had eating anything. They would basically sit or slowly crawl somewhere (I did finally see one fly). I didn't find any insect-damaged plants (including my lilacs or plum where I would see them on or near). I know there are a couple of insects that look like the one described here. I expect that the mild winter last year helped these to overwinter to swarm this past summer. Am hoping that the significant cold of this past February put a dent in the population.

although i wasn't infested with them, i found at least a dozen in the house, mostly upstairs. someone mentioned it was because i have plants up here. funny thing is, they were never on or near the plants. i would be sitting on the computer and there one would be. three i found downstairs.

well at least i don't have to worry about spraying anything or finding out where they were in the walls.

maryanne

I've read the postings that they are running rampant in PA, but I have not seen a good posting of how to eliminate them (other than sealing the house). Does anyone know of a good pesticide that we can use in our home? I am going to try to contact someone at Penn State for their suggestions.

Thanks!
Kathy

I'm sure I'll get into the swing of things here and post more often now.

I would love to hear of some other ideas of getting these little pests out of the house.

Stacy.

i guess you could exterminate, but i won't. i'll deal with it. rather that than taking a chance on chemicals.

i'm not sure if once they find their way in if they ever leave - sure hope they aren't laying eggs in the walls or whereever they are. i can't tell where they come in although everything you read says to find the place.

good luck with them stacy.

maryanne

Some smell worse than others. We no longer crush them unless they are wrapped in newspaper.

Over the last few years we have been replacing our old storm windows with modern windows which are much tighter. We have definately seen a reduction. But, some still sneak in. That is what stumps us, that a bug that size can slip in.

I am thinking of spraying Neem around the house today.
What can it hurt? Is it because of the fruits, etc.
around?

Confused.

Baygon Aerosol.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Low odor aerosol in a pressurized
can designed for crack, crevice and void treatment. With it's
unique needle-like straw injector, you are able to get it deep
into wall voids where target pests are nesting.

TARGET PESTS: Although it is labeled and effective
for many pests, Baygon works great for stink bugs.

WHERE TO USE IT: Around window frames, door frames,
molding, pipe holes, cracks, crevices and generally where the
use of a liquid application would be too messy. Baygon allows
the applicator to make precise, specific applications where it
counts. It will penetrate deep where stink bugs are
nesting. Try to treat every foot with a 5 second blast on
siding. A can will treat about 500 sq/ft of cracks and crevices.

PRODUCT NAME: Spreader Sticker.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: An additive which is mixed with
pesticide and water. It is odorless and will allow the
pesticide to "stick" better to treated surfaces. Helps
get certain pests which have natural oils and coverings
which make treatment difficult. This is particularly
helpful when spraying for stink bugs.

TARGET PESTS: Just about any pest.

WHERE TO USE IT: Inside or outside.
Well hope this helps.

i've killed two so far and sucked one up in the vaccum and have flicked several off the screens. here we go again!!!!!!

maryanne

If it's only taken a year to get this bad (I don't remember having these prior to last year..at least not that I noticed)....what is it going to be like in another couple of years???

I can handle the japanese beetles..I hate them, but they are limited to summertime. These stink bugs are a year round nuisance!!!!!

What else can be done?

one night one must have been on my shirt and got on my neck. it kind of digs its way in, tick-like. the area of my neck hurt for a few days.

i don't have enough of them to consider an exterminator and personally, i don't use any chemical sprays, so that's out of the question. i guess they are here to stay. i'm at war with a couple of squirrels, so i really have to pick and choose my battles.

We've resigned ourselves for the moment to the same method we used to successfully remove acres of kudzu from our property: brute force. Yesterday we spent 2 hrs in the attic with a vacuum cleaner hose and sucked the buggers up. The powerful turbine of our vac pulverized them. Plastic storage boxes seem to have kept them out of boxed clothes.

One post here recommended using permethrin and related chemicals. I read a permethrin label that was downright scary in details of its toxicity. The suggestioin to use a light trap is intriguing, though. Looking forward to hearing about your stinkbug adventures and solutions!

I am getting silly with the ways I use to dispose of these things and they perch in places that chills me to the bone. Like having a alien invade.

These buggers are bad.

Stink bugs are quite prevalent where I live in Bulgaria, but never saw any in Allentown, PA, where I lived for many years, ironically enough.

Here, my husband and mother-in-law surprised me by calling them, "Little Friends". Yes, they certainly do like to come inside beginning in the fall and we have no problem with that. They are very lethargic creatures, and we had a dozen or so hibernating on a long pot of geraniums that we brought inside for the winter. They rarely moved and certainly did no harm whatsoever to the geraniums.

However, as we were living seafront and the low hanging sun would shine through brilliantly during the cold January and February days, as soon as the sunlight hit them, they became extremely active and if I opened the kitchen door during one of their "sunlight frenzies", they would play Kamikaze and head for the outside. My husband or I would "rescue" them from the freezing temperatures and put them back on their geranium. :)

This year I devised a better plan than having them clunk and clatter around the lightbulbs when they got a stroke of energy (and YES, they most certainly fly)... I got a clear plastic container, poked holes in the bottom, added some soil, planted a couple geranium leaves, cut out a screen and secured it across the top with a rubber band. And yes, our Little Friends now have a safe and secure little terrarium until it's warm enough to turn them loose in the late spring again.

They rarely move, but simply gather at the top of the screen and just "hang out." I took them outside yesterday to get a little fresh air and sunshine, and lo and behold, they started dropping off the screen onto the soil. I decided they didn't like direct sunlight, so put them in a shady corner for their dose of fresh air. :)

This evening, another entered the house and my cat got to it before I did. I heard a funny sound from the cat, heard the familiar "clunky" sound of the clumsy Little Friend, tuned on the light to see poor kitty not very happy about the foul taste in his mouth and making the funniest faces I've ever seen. Found the stinkbug quite intact and it is presently under a cup waiting to be added to the terrarium in the morning after I am sure it is not injured.

In all the times I've encountered these little guys, never once has a "stink" been noticed. We have accidentally stepped on them, vacuumed them and through all the capturing and transferring, no "stink."

I guess it all depends on one's perspective. Make a small terrarium for them and keep them in one place. As the saying goes, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." :-)