After a summer spent in the great outdoors eating crops and mating stink bugs all around the United States are looking to come into people's homes for the winter, according to the Hunterdon Democrat.
The brown marmorated stink bug was first introduced to the United States in 1998 and they can now be found in 36 states. Stink bugs have a very apt name; when they are in danger they release an unpleasant odor. Other than repulsing humans with their smell the insect poses no danger to humans as they don't bite, according to the Indianapolis Star.
The stink bug is an invasive species that has no natural predator here in the United States which has allowed the bug's population explode exponentially in the last 15 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was trying to track the insect to get a better idea of how widespread they have become; the government shutdown has forced the department to furlough the scientists who were in charge of the project, according to ConsumerReports.org.
The best way to keep the pests out of homes this winter is to make sure that all windows and doors are sealed tightly to block their entryway into the house. Exterminators have licensed insecticides that can kill the nuisance causing bugs but often their effects are only felt for a week or two before the bugs return, according to ConsumerReports.org.
Jody Williams has spent the last couple of years modifying and perfecting an easy to build, and very cheap, way to trap the annoying creatures. Using cardboard, some wood, Velcro and a couple of box fans Williams has found a chemical free way to combat the invasive insect, according to the Hunterdon Democrat.
While the bugs irritate people by their presence and smell the real damage they cause by eating fruit trees and other crops.
"The true damage they cause is not the nuisance they create when coming into our houses, but rather the huge economic losses faced by farmers," Jessica Walliser, a horticulturalist, told the Indianapolis Star. "BMSBs have become very troublesome, as both the adults and nymphs attack apples, stone fruits, tomatoes, corn and many other crops."
