The hits just keep coming, in the form of more unwelcomed six-legged visitors whose real home is across the seas.
A surge of invasive insects has washed over our Wonder Lake 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 stink.
The brown marmorated stink bug 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-earned. When disturbed or crushed, the brown marmorated stink bug emits an awful, creature you'd invite into your Wonder Lake house, right?
Fortunately, the brown marmorated stink bug hasn't arrived in great numbers in Wonder Lake or WI. Stink bug control isn't much of an issue yet. Yet it's only a matter of time.
Farmers abhor 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 United States. The insect 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 Wonder Lake homes. If you step on one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Wonder Lake house or yard, don't smush 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.