The hits just keep coming, in the form of more uninvited 6-legged visitors whose real home is across the seas.
A mass of annoying species has washed over our Mapleton neighborhood Pewaukee and Wisconsin in the past two decades: the Japanese beetle and gypsy moth to name a few. All are resident to foreign countries. All have caused environmental and economic mayhem in the United States, where no natural predators exist to control them.
The latest invader winging its way here will literally make a smell.
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-deserved. When disturbed or crushed, the brown marmorated stink bug emits a strong, overpowering you'd invite into your Mapleton house, right?
Fortunately, the brown marmorated stink bug hasn't arrived in large numbers in Mapleton or Wisconsin. 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 stink. The stink bug feast 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 family member that is native to the United States. 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 Mapleton your house. If you crack one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Mapleton home or yard, don't step on them – contact The Mosquito Guy to address their presence in a safe, non-smelly fashion. Unlike these bugs, we'll never stink up your joint.