It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
The brown marmorated stink bug, an insect not previously seen on our continent, has apparently been accidentally introduced into eastern Pennsylvania. It was first collected in September of 1998 in Allentown, but probably arrived several years earlier. As of March 2010, Halyomorpha halys has been recorded from the following 37 counties, although it is probable that they are in all counties:
Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Franklin, Indiana, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Snyder, Washington, Westmoreland and York
It is also recorded from many other states such as: Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. This true bug in the insect family Pentatomidae is known as an agricultural pest in its native range of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. It becomes a nuisance pest both indoors and out when it is attracted to the outside of houses on warm fall days in search of protected, overwintering sites. It occasionally reappears during warmer sunny periods throughout the winter, and again as it emerges in the spring.
Originally posted by minute2midnight
We are overrun here. I've killed at least a dozen so far tonight. I can't open the windows, I can't turn on the a.c., I can't open the front door without getting dive bombed.
Management Before Bugs Enter a Building: Mechanical exclusion is the best method to keep stink bugs from entering homes and buildings. Cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes, behind chimneys, and underneath the wood fascia and other openings should be sealed with good quality silicone or silicone-latex caulk. Damaged screens on doors and windows should be repaired or replaced. Exterior applications of insecticides may offer some relief from infestations where the task of completely sealing the exterior is difficult or impossible. Applications should consist of a synthetic pyrethroid (i.e. deltamethrin, cyfluthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, sumithrin or tralomethrin) and should be applied by a licensed pest control operator in the fall just prior to bug congregation. Unfortunately, because insecticides are broken down by sunlight, the residual effect of the material will be greatly decreased and may not kill the insects much beyond several days or a week.
Garlic
1. Garlic emits an odor that repels many insects, including stink bugs. In a spray bottle, mix a solution of 2 cups water and 4 tsps garlic powder. Spray this solution onto plant leaves, soil, doorways and any other area that stink bugs tend to migrate to. Repeat every two to three days to keep stink bugs at bay.
Mint
2. Mint is another strong herb that will keep stink bugs from polluting your home and lawn. In a spray bottle, mix a solution of 2 cups water and 10 drops of mint essential oil (or 2 tsps of ground mint leaves). Spray this solution onto doorways, plant leaves and soil to keep stink bugs from migrating to your lawn.
Catnip
3. Catnip also repels stink bugs. Grow catnip in your garden or purchase from your local grocery store. If purchasing catnip powder, simply sprinkle around the garden and home to keep stink bugs from nesting near your home.
Dish Detergent
4. You can create your own insecticidal soap by simply mixing 2 cups of water and 10 drops of liquid dish detergent in a spray bottle. Spray this solution onto plant leaves, doorways and window sills. The dish detergent also works as an adhesive, sticking to plant leaves and allowing the effects to last longer. Repeat every few days, as necessary, to keep stink bugs from infesting your lawn.
Originally posted by silo13
Catnip
3. Catnip also repels stink bugs. Grow catnip in your garden or purchase from your local grocery store. If purchasing catnip powder, simply sprinkle around the garden and home to keep stink bugs from nesting near your home.
Originally posted by DClairvoyant
don't you think its about time you guys are getting back what you have done to unto others, you shall have done unto you? Hint hint*
Originally posted by lpowell0627
I'm right there with you all -- the walls of my house are covered with them.
For everyone saying: "Oh the poor things", "now you know how they feel about us", etc., keep this in mind:
They were brought into Eastern Pennsylvania by a person and are therefore not naturally supposed to be here.
I find that there is a huge distinction between invading an animal's territory and then complaining: i.e. building a house in the woods and then chasing out all the bears, versus a person upsetting the balance of nature which then would require human intervention in order to bring back the balance: i.e. stink bugs in the northeast & also pythons in the Florida Everglades....