Stink Bugs

[djrockinsteve]

Watch your mail, I'll send you some.

 

[Flem]

I haven't seen a stink bug in years. Luckily I don't miss them.

Just wait Rick, they're heading your way!

 

[Brian]

What I usually do is catch them in a paper towel and squish them and flush them. I don't have to many a few now and then but th eheat a week or so ago brought out a few.. I have never noticed a smell. Thank God!

 

[xanxer82]

http://www.hgic.umd.edu/content/brownstinkbug.cfm
This link to the University of MD Extension Center has pictures of them in all of their stages, nymph to adult.

 

[Daisy317]

It is because of the scent they leave. The ones you're finding now are left over from last fall. The next big infestation will occur next fall.

Well I never noticed them last year... hope it's a fluke...

 

[AlFulchino]

John here is an article i had just read before coming here...these things are nasty..the story is from the ithacajournal.com

Vineyards warned about threat of stink bugs
Cornell professor addresses grape growers conference
6:05 PM, Mar. 24, 2011

The stink from stink bugs is just the start -- not only do the pests feast on local fruit, they could imperil the state's wine industry, grape growers have been warned.

At the 60th annual Finger Lakes Grape Growers' Conference held in Waterloo, about 300 grape growers, winemakers and extension educators were introduced to two new invasive insects that are expected to make their first appearance in the Finger Lakes region this summer: the spotted wing fruit fly and the brown marmorated stink bug.

A native of Asia, this particular stink bug was first spotted in Allentown, Pa., around 1996 and has hitchhiked into parts of New York, including the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New York City, but it has not posed a serious statewide agricultural threat until now. It stunned farmers in the Middle Atlantic states with its unprecedented, aggressive damage in 2010, feeding on a wide variety of crops, from soybeans to fruit trees.

"Based on work in other states, we know that both species will feed on grapes, but it is still unclear how much damage they will cause," Cornell entomology professor Greg Loeb said. "The better informed growers are -- recognizing what these insects look like, their pest potential and possible control measures -- the better they will be able to make sound pest-management decisions."

Conference participants were also updated about viral threats. Miguel Gomez, Cornell assistant professor of applied economics and management in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, spoke about the financial effects of grapevine leafroll virus disease -- estimated to be between $10,000 and $16,000 per acre -- and offered recommendations for minimizing virus management costs over the life of a vineyard.

Wayne Wilcox, Cornell professor of plant pathology and plant-microbe biology, gave some hope for treatment of powdery and downy mildew, highlighting newly available fungicides that have proven effective in his field trials.

New York grape production was 8 percent higher than average in 2010, said Dyson School professor Gerald White, and traffic on the wine trails increased, he said. But he cautioned that rising fuel and energy prices will drive up costs in 2011.

 

[Flem]

Al, I hope they can find an effective control method for them. To me, they are just a real nuisance; to folks like you, they could be devastating. I heard that this summer they are coming out with something like the Japanese Beatle trap, which, to me, is about as effective as a fly swatter.

 

[Runningwolf]

Mike I agree with you. In some cities Japanese beetle traps are outlawed as they actually attract them. I love it when my neighbors place then away from their house next to my yard.

 

[Flem]

That's actually very true. I guess, under the guise of being nice, you could buy them for all of your neighbors and solve your problem without an expensive lawn treatment.

 

[grapeman]

On Monday we had our yearly Pesticide Distributors meeting. One of the big topics was the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug. Most chemical suppliers have their own product for them with one seeming to be more effective than the others. The common theme is to hit them early and hit them hard. It is inevitable that they will invade all areas soon. If you wait until you find them it may be too late. Unlike other stinkbugs that only feed as adults, these suckers feed at all stages, causing a lot of damage to fruit of all kinds.

Miguel Gomez is meeting with our group because one of his new projects is to help upstart wine regions of our state. They are putting together a grant application to see what they can do to help these areas.

Overall the 60th Annual Conference was great. I got to meet a lot of new contacts, from equipment suppliers, chemical dealers, University personnel, and a host of just plain good people in the wine industry. Eric Amberg of Grafted Grapevine made a point of speaking with me as he is interested in getting cold hardy vines established in his nursery. He has some varieties and wanted to learn more about other ones out there.

Anyway, back to the Stinkbug. I hope that an effective control for this pest is found soon that doesn't involve nasty chemicals. I would rather not have to use any of them, but can't afford to see whole crops destroyed either.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

USA TODAY: STINK BUG POPULATION SPREADING ACROSS USA

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

One of the control measures is Surround, its a clay based product that doesnt kill the stinkers but they just plain dont like it, as a plus fungal diseases dont like it either and neither do a bunch of other bugs. In our veg garden last year they devasted the tomatoes and peppers, they all looked like someone took a needle and just randomly poked holes in them. They were all over the berry crop too. As a plus the clay acts like bentonite and is supposed to help clear your must.

Crackedcork

On Monday we had our yearly Pesticide Distributors meeting. One of the big topics was the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug. Most chemical suppliers have their own product for them with one seeming to be more effective than the others. The common theme is to hit them early and hit them hard. It is inevitable that they will invade all areas soon. If you wait until you find them it may be too late. Unlike other stinkbugs that only feed as adults, these suckers feed at all stages, causing a lot of damage to fruit of all kinds.

Miguel Gomez is meeting with our group because one of his new projects is to help upstart wine regions of our state. They are putting together a grant application to see what they can do to help these areas.

Overall the 60th Annual Conference was great. I got to meet a lot of new contacts, from equipment suppliers, chemical dealers, University personnel, and a host of just plain good people in the wine industry. Eric Amberg of Grafted Grapevine made a point of speaking with me as he is interested in getting cold hardy vines established in his nursery. He has some varieties and wanted to learn more about other ones out there.

Anyway, back to the Stinkbug. I hope that an effective control for this pest is found soon that doesn't involve nasty chemicals. I would rather not have to use any of them, but can't afford to see whole crops destroyed either.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Unlike other stinkbugs that only feed as adults, these suckers feed at all stages, causing a lot of damage to fruit of all kinds.

What do you mean only the adults feed? Those nympths have to eat to grow to.

These things are so pervasive that even if you kill every bug in your wineyard of vineyard there are millions more waiting in your neighbors yard to haphazardly fly over and start munching again. One extension guy told us that the problem is that since they pierce their food with their mouth like a mosquito just applying spray to the surface doesnt do much to stop them.


Crackedcork

 

[grapeman]

I'm only relaying information I got. I guess it would be more accurate to say that they feed on fruit at all stages where other kinds feed on the plants. Because of this they have more of an economic impact. Fruit is more valuable in general than foliage.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

OK, got it, we grow hot peppers also, this year we tossed most of the crop, the stink bugs poked holes all over them, we had to shake them out of the elderberries when we picked them and we have never seen so many hiding in the blackberries. They say this coming summer is going to be WORSE! Crackedcork

I'm only relaying information I got. I guess it would be more accurate to say that they feed on fruit at all stages where other kinds feed on the plants. Because of this they have more of an economic impact. Fruit is more valuable in general than foliage.