Latest WI Pest: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

The hits just keep coming, in the form of more unwanted 6-legged visitors whose real home is across the oceans.

A tide of invasive bugs has washed over our Ozaukee County neighborhood Pewaukee and Wisconsin in the past 2 decades: the emerald ash borer and gypsy moth to name a few. All are innate to foreign countries. All have caused environmental and economic havoc in the United States, where no natural predators exist to control them.

The most recent invader winging its way here will literally make a stink.

The brown marmorated stink bug is ¾-inch long, with a wide back side that tapers to a point, and a rectangular head with long antennae. Native to China and east Asia, the insect has been migrating west since being first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2001.

Its name is well-deserved. When smushed or crushed, the brown marmorated stink bug emits an awful, nasty you'd invite into your Ozaukee County home, right?

Fortunately, the brown marmorated stink bug hasn't arrived in great numbers in Ozaukee County or WI. Stink bug control isn't much of an issue yet. Yet it's only a matter of time.

Farmers abhor them for more than their stink. The insects feed on tree fruits, vegetables, sweet corn and soybeans. Mid-Atlantic apple growers sustained an estimated $37 million in crop losses in 2010 to marmorated stink bugs.

The Asian invasive has a relative that is native to the U.S. The insect looks a lot like the brown marmorated version, except the colors of their undersides are different. We somehow doubt you'll get that far identifying them, though.

Brown marmorated stink bugs like to winter inside Ozaukee County homes. If you step on one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Ozaukee County home or yard, don't step on them – contact The Mosquito Guy to address their presence in a safe, non-smelly fashion.  Unlike these insects, we'll never stink up your joint.