The hits just keep coming, in the form of more unwelcomed 6-legged visitors whose real home is across the oceans.
A surge of offensive species has washed over our Goerkes Corner neighborhood Pewaukee and Wisconsin in the past two decades: the emerald ash borer and gypsy moth to name a few. All are innate to foreign countries. All have caused environmental and economic mayhem in the U.S., 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 journeying west since being first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2001.
Its name is well-deserved. When smushed or stepped on, the brown marmorated stink bug emits a strong, overpowering you'd invite into your Goerkes Corner house, right?
Fortunately, the brown marmorated insect hasn't arrived in great numbers in Goerkes Corner 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 smell. 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 family member 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 Goerkes Corner your house. If you step on one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Goerkes Corner home or yard, don't crush them – contact The Mosquito Guy to address their presence in a safe, non-stinky fashion. Unlike these bugs, we'll never stink up your joint.