If you’ve seen some odd-looking brown bugs with a shield-shaped body in or around your home, you’ve got stinkbugs. Brown marmorated stinkbugs have been slowly but surely invading more and more states after coming over to the US from Asia in the mid 1990s.
Stinkbugs were first reported in Allentown, PA, but they’ve managed to find their way to 41 states since then. While these bugs don’t bite or spread disease, they do ruin fruit harvests and can be very difficult to get rid of inside homes. These bugs get their name from the smelly chemicals they emit when they’re in danger, which has helped them avoid being eaten by predators.
Researchers have been struggling to find effective ways to stop these bugs. One possibility is by introducing a species of tiny parasitic wasps from Asia that attack stinkbug eggs. These wasps are able to get inside the eggs, then get rid of everything inside of them before making a hole and climbing out. This prevents stinkbug eggs from hatching, which could help bring their numbers down. A more unusual way to control stinkbug populations is by using their chemicals to add a spicy flavor to foods, which some cultures already do. These chemicals could also possibly provide some extra iodine to people’s diets.
Having trouble with stinkbugs in your home? Contact Allison Pest Control for reliable NJ stink bug control services.