The hits just keep coming, in the form of more unwelcomed six-legged visitors whose real home is across the seas.
A mass of invasive bugs has washed over our Oak Knoll neighborhood Pewaukee and Wisconsin in the past 2 decades: the Japanese beetle and Asian beetle to name a few. All are native to foreign countries. All have caused environmental and economic havoc 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-earned. When smushed or crushed, the brown marmorated stink bug emits a strong, odor guaranteed to wrinkle your nose. Probably not a {visitor you'd invite into your Oak Knoll home, right?
Fortunately, the brown marmorated insect hasn't arrived in large numbers in Oak Knoll or Wisconsin. Stink bug control isn't much of an issue yet. Yet it's only a matter of time.
Farmers hate them for more than their smell. The stink bug 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 cousin 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 Oak Knoll your house. If you crack one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Oak Knoll house 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.