Stink Bugs on Stage

September 20th, 2011

   People have been ruefully joking in this disaster-filled year that the only thing we haven’t seen yet is a plague of locusts.

   Stink bugs come pretty darn close.

A stink bug looking for an opening inside...

   These shield-shaped invaders have been getting worse every year, and central Pennsylvania is at the national epicenter.

   Some locals get them inside by the bucket load. And according to Andy Strube, the Columbia fellow who invented one of the first indoor stink-bug traps, this season looks to be the worst yet despite all the rain.

   Now’s when these stinky bugs try to come inside to avoid freezing to death over winter.

   At first, the bug experts thought the brown marmorated stink bug was mainly an indoor annoyance. Because of no good natural predator, the population exploded way beyond annoyance for a lot of people.

   Last year was the first the bug became a serious crop pest, destroying millions of dollars worth of apples, peaches, corns, tomatoes, grapes and soybeans.

   University of Maryland entomologist Paula Shrewsbury told me this could end up being the worst bug we face in our lifetime.

   How many other bugs reproduce like crazy, spread virtually unchecked, eat our plants in summer, then come inside to stinkily torment us the rest of the time?

   Even the dreaded Japanese beetle has the common courtesy to confine its mischief to the outdoors.

   So far, I’m not real optimistic about any of the controls.

   Plugging up all the holes and cracks in a typical house is nearly impossible. It’s worth a try, though, and if you can accomplish it, it’s probably the closest thing to a solution. Indoors, at least.

A couple of stink bugs are exploring the outside of my Rescue Stink Bug Trap, but none are inside.

   I haven’t had much luck so far trying to capture stink bugs outside in one of those new Rescue Stink Bug Traps that hit the market in July. Some people say they work great, others not. Seems to me timing and placement make a big difference. Bonide also has a new pheromone-based trap that’s just hitting garden centers, but I haven’t tried that one.

   Trying to spray stink bugs swarming on the siding might make a dent in the population, but timing again is important. For the least toxic sprays like insecticidal soap and mint or neem oils, you have to actually hit the bugs. They don’t do anything to the horde that flies in tomorrow.

   The other problem with sprays is that if you hit a bug on the way in, he might be mortally wounded but not die until holed up inside your wall. Then you’ve got carpet-beetle-attracting dead stink bugs inside the walls or living space.

   The latest weapon is the indoor stink trap. I know of at least four new commercial traps and one do-it-yourself design.

   All get placed inside – ideally in the attic or other warm and/or high spots where stink bugs tend to congregate – and all are designed to lure and then trap the bugs.

   For starters, the Rescue trap converts to an indoor model by adding an LED light kit ($18 in addition to the original $20 for the trap itself). The $16 Bonide trap also is labeled for inside use but uses the same pheromone lures rather than converting into a light attractor.

   Then there’s Strube’s Stink Bug Trap, a lighted, hanging plastic, soda-bottle-like trap with holes that uses a plant-based scent lure and “gooey glue” to capture attracted stink bugs.

   Strube uses a warm light, which he says attracts stink bugs way better than a cool LED or fluorescent light. The sticky sleeve catches stink bugs similar to a fly trap. When it’s covered, you toss the sleeve and get a new one for about $10.

   The traps themselves are $47 to $55, depending on whether you buy online or go to Strube’s new “stink-bug central” storefront on North Third Street in Columbia.

   The fourth trap is the “Original Indoor Stink Bug Trap” from Exton-based nth Solution. This $35 trap uses a light and a “secret sauce” to make what looks like a big, glowing votive, partly filled with liquid.

   The light attracts stink bugs, and the irresistible scent of the sauce compels them to dive in and suffocate themselves.

   The last option is making your own trap.

   A stink-bug-plagued fellow from western Pennsylvania concocted one cheapie model using a cut-off 2-liter soda bottle, some tape and, in the bottom, a $6 battery-operated Sylvania Dot-It LED light from the home center.

   If you want to see how it’s done, check out Julian Smith’s online video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwUuHhWYvDA.

   I don’t know which works best, but I’m planning to give all four traps a try in my house this fall and winter.

   All I need now is a bunch of indoor stink bugs.

   And, no, don’t bother calling to offer me yours.

   I just posted an article with more details on all of the what-to-do-about-stink-bug options at https://georgeweigel.net/favorite-past-garden-columns/stink-bug-weapons.

   For another article on why this problem is getting so bad and what we have to look forward to, try this page: https://georgeweigel.net/favorite-past-garden-columns/double-trouble-bug-problem-really-stinks.