The hits just keep coming, in the form of more uninvited six-legged visitors whose real home is across the waters.
A surge of persistent species has washed over our Cedar Park neighborhood Pewaukee and Wisconsin in the past 2 decades: the Japanese beetle and Asian beetle to name a few. All are innate to foreign countries. All have caused environmental and economic havoc 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 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 migrating west since being first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2001.
Its name is well-earned. When disturbed or stepped on, the brown marmorated stink bug emits a strong, creature you'd invite into your Cedar Park home, right?
Fortunately, the brown marmorated stink bug hasn't arrived in large numbers in Cedar Park or Wisconsin. Stink bug control isn't much of an issue yet. Yet it's only a matter of time.
Farmers hate them for more than their smell. The insects 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 cousin 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 Cedar Park your house. If you step on one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Cedar Park 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.