The hits just keep coming, in the form of more unwanted 6-legged visitors whose real home is across the waters.
A surge of persistent bugs has washed over our Fox River Grove neighborhood Pewaukee and Wisconsin in the past 2 decades: the emerald ash borer and gypsy moth to name a few. All are native to foreign countries. All have caused environmental and economic mayhem in the U.S., where no natural predators exist to control them.
The most recent invader winging its way here will literally make a smell.
The brown marmorated insect 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-deserved. When disturbed or stepped on, the brown marmorated stink bug emits a strong, odor guaranteed to wrinkle your nose. Probably not a {visitor you'd invite into your Fox River Grove house, right?
Fortunately, the brown marmorated stink bug hasn't arrived in great numbers in Fox River Grove or Wisconsin. Stink bug control isn't much of an issue yet. Yet it's only a matter of time.
Farmers dislike them for more than their odor. 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 relative that is native to the U.S. The brown stink bug 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 Fox River Grove homes. If you smush one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Fox River Grove home or yard, don't crush them – contact The Mosquito Guy to address their presence in a safe, non-stinky fashion. Unlike these insects, we'll never stink up your joint.