From: Mike Waldvogel, Extension Entomology
We are getting a lot of reports of houses being inundated with what
is likely the brown mamorated stink bug. This insect is a pest of a
wide variety of agricultural and horticultural crops including soybeans,
fruits, and ornamentals. When it's done feasting on these crops,
the adults turn their attention to finding a place to overwinter. This
situation is virtually identical to the problems with have with the Asian
lady beetles except they actually stink worse than the lady beetles do
when you crush them (they are called STINK bugs for a reason!)
The problem is also identical to the beetle in that little can be done
to stop them. Pesticide applications to the exterior of houses make
kill bunches of them IF you spray them directly or if they land on
treated surfaces in a day or so but for the most part that victory of
the bugs is short-lived and they may be back. So, people can spray
what they want outdoors just if it keeps them amused but don't expect
it to have any real impact. I would discourage spraying indoors because
there is no specific target site and excessive indoor applications are
potentially harmful to the occupants. If they want to spray around
windows and doors, do so OUTSIDE. Use a vacuum cleaner to collect
them indoors.
This problem is relatively new for us but has been occurring north of
our border for some time. One of the better summaries can be found
at Penn State's website:
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug
