Manning the Battle Stations against the Stink Bug Invasion

I don’t know about you but I have been fighting the Stink Bug invasion all week. Our warmer weather has caused the bugs to actively search for a way out of our house. Unfortunately they only seem attracted to the lights and ceiling in our family room. You kill one and two seem to take their place! Where do they come from? They appear to come from nowhere.

From what I have read there is no easy and effective way to rid your house of these bugs. I have heard of people trying flypaper and spraying them with vinegar and water. Like most people I pick them up with a napkin or paper towel, squish them and throw them in the trash. I probably used a hold pack of napkins. Not great for the environment as you might remember a past blog of mine on not using paper napkins to save the environment. You also get the odor on your hands after grabbing one of these bugs. Not the foulest odor but not pleasant either.

Seems like they reverse themselves in the fall and try to get back into your house for the winter to go dormant. The adult females lay their eggs on leaves and fruit during the summer months. The eggs hatch and those are the ones trying to get into your house in the fall to hibernate and come back out next Spring.

While a nuisance to homeowners they are really a problem for the fruit growers that have seen real damage to their crops the last few years. Congressman Barlett has even called on the Secretary of Agriculture to have fruit growers be able to use pesticides that the Department has not approved for use. Many researchers are trying to find a natural predator that will eat the stink bug the way the a predator was found for the Gypsy Moths a few years ago.

Finally why is it that bad things seem to come to us from China. All our flu strains come from China. Lead painted children’s toys come from China. Now the stink bugs. We send them our money and they give us bugs. Not sure we are getting the best of the trades.