Stink Bugs
By: Sandy Feather
©2008
Penn State
Cooperative Extension
Q.
I have been
finding these armored beetle looking insects inside my house for the past couple of weeks.
They put off a weird smell when I crush them. Please help me
identify these bugs and tell me how to get rid of them!
A. The writer sent a sample of the insect, and it's a
brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys). This is a new pest
in our area that was accidentally introduced into eastern
Pennsylvania in the late 1990’s and has been reported in 26 of
Pennsylvania’s 67 counties to date, including Allegheny County.
Brown marmorated stink bugs are native to China, Japan, Korea and
Taiwan where they are considered important agricultural pests in
orchards, ornamental plant nurseries, and soybean fields.
They are varying shades of brown on both sides of their bodies, with
light and dark bands alternating on their antennae and dark bands
along the edges of their wings at the rear of their bodies. Mature
insects are just under an inch long and have the “shield shape”
characteristic of true bugs in the order Hemiptera. [photo]
Like Asian
multicolored lady beetles and boxelder bugs, brown marmorated stink
bugs like to hibernate in our houses for the winter. They do not eat
fabric or furniture and are not known to bite people or pets. They
do cause concern when large numbers of them congregate on the sunny
sides of houses in the fall, looking for a way in. They repeat this
behavior in reverse in the spring, congregating on interior walls,
looking for a way out. They emit an unpleasant odor when crushed or
disturbed (hence the name “stink bug”). Researchers believe there is
one generation of brown marmorated stink bugs a year in
Pennsylvania’s climate.
The best way to deal with all of these nuisance pests is to keep
them out of your house as much as possible. Screen all openings and
attic vents. Make sure your window screens do not have holes in them
and that the weather-stripping on doors fits snugly. Caulk all
cracks around window and door frames, openings where utility pipes
and wires enter your house and any other opening to the outdoors.
You can reduce brown marmorated stink bug congregations outdoors
with sprays of synthetic pyrethroids, including the active
ingredients cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, sumithrin
or tralomethrin. A licensed structural pest control operator should
apply these products in the fall, just before insects begin to
congregate. Since many pesticides are broken down by exposure to
sunlight, the residual effect of such applications may not last more
than a week.
Do not spray these products inside your home. They will not prevent
insects from coming in through unsealed crevices. Also, even though
these products may kill many insects in wall voids, their decaying
bodies may attract carpet beetles that will damage wool fabrics,
grain products of all kinds, pet food, and many other food items.
Use a vacuum to remove brown marmorated stink bugs and change the
bag or empty the canister frequently.
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