The hits just keep coming, in the form of more unwelcomed 6-legged visitors whose real home is across the seas.
A surge of invasive bugs has washed over our Lannon neighborhood Pewaukee and Wisconsin in the past 2 decades: the emerald ash borer 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 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 traveling 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, odor guaranteed to wrinkle your nose. Probably not a {visitor you'd invite into your Lannon home, right?
Fortunately, the brown marmorated stink bug hasn't arrived in great numbers in Lannon 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 stink. 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 cousin that is native to the U.S. 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 Lannon your house. If you crack one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Lannon house or yard, don't crush them – contact The Mosquito Guy to address their presence in a safe, non-smelly fashion. Unlike these insects, we'll never stink up your joint.