Stink Bugs…What’s Our Government Doing?

The brown marmorated stink bug has enjoyed their summer feasting and has now set their sights on finding a warm spot to spend the winter months.  Despite their prehistoric shield shaped armor, these stinky pests must come in from the cold or suffer from winter’s wrath and freeze to death.  Their ideal place to overwinter is inside of your home where it’s warm and toasty.  Sunny days will bring them out of their hiding spots to bask on window sills and walls as they hope that springtime is nearing.  The stink bugs that have made their way indoors are often easy to capture and dispose of, but the ones you don’t see are the real problem.

If you live in a stink bug area of the United States, you can rest assured that these pests have made their way into your garages, attics, sheds, and without a doubt, they are lined up like little soldiers ready for war underneath the insulation of your siding.  I know this from personal experience.

Researchers at the US Department of Agriculture Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit are conducting studies to find the best ways to combat these creatures before they become more of an agricultural nightmare than they already are.  In a controlled study, researchers are watching to see how Trissolcus wasps, which are smaller than a gnat and a fruit fly, prey upon the brown marmorated stink bug eggs.

These parasitic wasps are native to Japan, Korea, and China. They keep the stink bug population under control by finding stink bug eggs and laying one egg of their own in each of the stink bug eggs.  As the wasp develops, it devours the developing stink bug egg from the inside out.  Sounds great!  So far the testing of the wasps has shown promising results, but will be ongoing.  The US Department of Agriculture must be assured that this non-native wasp would not be harmful to other insect species in the United States before they would consider releasing it.