Bugs...

[DutchmenSport]

Two years ago we got hit with the dreaded "stink bugs". They invaded everything. Our travel trailer had stink bugs for the next year inside. I caught them and one-by-one set them free outside. If I killed them, they emit a horrible smell, so killing was not an option. Even after winter ended, in the Spring, the bugs were still here.

We traded that travel trailer for our current 5er. It was September last year, and immediately, the new 5er was taken over by a new crop of stink bugs. Again, capturing them one at a time, it never ended. Winter came and went again. Because we used the 5er over the winter, we'd see stink bugs almost every day. Just couldn't get rid of them.

Finally, in the Spring of this year, I took aggressive action and set off 3 bug bombs inside the camper all at once. About 6 hours later we returned to the 5er and I started counting the dead stink bugs that appeared and were found everywhere! That first attempt at a bug bomb resulted in over 60 dead stink bugs on that first day. Over the course of the next few days, we found an additional 40 (plus) that eventually died because of the residual bug bomb mist that was everywhere settled.

Two weeks later, I set of 3 more bug bombs, and this time it produced about 10 more dead stink bugs. It seems they came crawling out of everywhere they were hiding. Since then, we've had no more stink bugs, but I do occasionally find dead bodies in strange places, inside a cabinet, under the couch, rolled up in the outdoor mat, in the bottom of the tub under the sink. Fortunate though, they are all dead now.

However, today I decided to do some window maintenance. After one year, the sliding windows are getting hard to slide so picked up some 3-in-one RV Care Window Track Dry Lube. I also discovered today that all the screens on my windows are on sliding tracks, same as the window. So, when I sprayed with the window lube, ..... guess what? yep! It blew out MORE dead stink bugs that were caught in the window tracks.

Now, it's vacuum sweeper time to suck out all those dead bugs caught in the window tracks under the screen sliders. Shesh! Who would have thought!

So, just a helpful suggestion here... if you take the time to clean your windows or do maintenance on them, remove those screens and get a vacuum sweeper hose and suck out all the dead critters that found a home ... and a grave yard there. You might be surprised what you find in that unseen track!

About the time I thought I found all the hiding spots for those dead bugs, this one unearths. Anyone else have any more suggestions where bugs hide and die?

[Grit_dog]

Dang dutch, what a saga.
Reminds me of, we moved to AZ bout 15 years ago. Brand new house in a new subdivision in a soon to not be agricultural area. Our place backed up to a cotton field the spring we moved in. They didn't plant the fall (or whatever season) crop and the field sat bare and all of a sudden us and everyone else had an invasion of cotton bugs or whatever they were. I'm talking literally millions? marching up n over the block wall fences. They stormed the house. Would fall out of the fixtures in the ceilings, like while you slept.... Every morning turn on the fart fan in the bathroom and it sounded like an air popcorn popper!

I sprayed about 1000% the recommended amount of industrial pesticide on both sides of the block fence. 1/3 would die on the back side and more on the front side. There were piles of them at the bottom of the fence! That kept the majority out of the house. Other neighbors paid big $ for exterminators ( I heard 4 figures out of some of the folks) some just got inundated. Couple folks actually moved out.
It was freakin crazy for a couple months. The next season there was only a few of them. The we moved....

[ken56]

Come on, they have an odor, its not that bad. They don't bite so just pick them up and put them in a cup of soapy water and let them drown...or flush them, just don't return them back outside or you will be catching the same ones over again.


I have been replacing the siding on my home and I am gobsmacked at how many dead ones are falling out from behind of the old siding. They will crawl into any size crack they can find to get to warm. Pesticides are not very effective on them either so those ones you think are dead might not be.


Make certain ALL sources of ignition are OFF when you use a 'bug bomb', the mist WILL explode if ignited.

[Lynnmor]

You will find that often those "dead" bugs come back to life. They can metabolize most insecticides making them difficult to kill. Now why on earth would anyone release the stinkers back outside when dropping them in water with dish soap will insure they are dead?

[DutchmenSport]

Another follow-up... the "invasion" is well under way now. Not only at home, but we were at a campground, some 80 miles from home this week-end, and the stink bugs were crawling on the caper there too. Meanwhile, we found a couple live ones inside, which very carefully were placed outside.

This morning at home, when we got up (we sleep in the camper every night), I found 4 dead stink bugs on the floor. I was glad to see them dead and not crawling around. This tells me that the bug bombs I used earlier this year left enough residual killer on the walls and ceilings and cracks and crevices, then when these bugs pass over those areas, they are getting poisoned and die! I'd rather sweep them up off the floor than attempt to pick them up alive!

Anyway ... the "war" is raging, if anyone is passing through Indiana in the next few days (weeks) be sure to pack the bug spray!

[IdaD]

Bert Ackerman wrote:

HadEnough wrote:
Is this mostly in Indiana problem? Because I’m going to avoid that state if so. LOL

Nope. Looks like there is only 5 states you need to consider visiting, not sure how you get from some to the others though.

Wiki.............

The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, the Korean peninsula, and Taiwan. In September of 1998 it was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it is believed to have been accidentally introduced. The nymphs and adults of the brown marmorated stink bug feed on over 100 species of plants, including many agricultural crops, and by 2010–11 had become a season-long pest in orchards in the Eastern United States. In 2010, in the Mid-Atlantic United States, $37 million dollars in apple crops were lost, and some stone fruit growers lost more than 90% of their crops. It is now established in many parts of North America, and has recently become established in Europe and South America.

By 2009, this agricultural pest had reached Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Oregon. In 2010 this pest was found in additional states including Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and other states.

As of November 2011, it had spread to 34 U.S. states and by 2012 to 40, and showed an increase of 60% in total numbers over 2011.

Their populations have also spread to southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada.

Interesting. So apparently what I have always known a stink bug to be is actually called a Pinacate beetle, or stink beetle. Native to the southwest and west. They are all over eastern Oregon where I grew up and also southwest Idaho where I live now. I have never seen a "stink bug" as described above, although apparently they are spreading rapidly.

The stink beetles out west are nasty and ugly buggers. Some of them are pretty big and they really can let out a stink.

[drsteve]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Update: Well, since I set the bug bomb off the last time in the camper (like ... last April) ... I've not seen any LIVE ones until TODAY! I don't know what there is about my campers, but they seem to really like them. None on the inside yet, but saw 4 on the outside skin of the camper this after noon. I guess they are coming back now! "That time of year?" Looks like I'll be picking up some extra bug bombs from Dollar General and set them off ever couple weeks. We do stay in the camper, pretty much full time, although we are home. So, I guess, when setting off those bombs, we'll just have to go back to the house for a few hours .... (sigh!).

Go easy with the bug bombs. They have a residual effect on humans as well as bugs, and too much can make you and yours sick. Always follow label directions concerning the number to use for the size of the space, and the frequency of use.

Clicky

[Bert_Ackerman]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Update: Well, since I set the bug bomb off the last time in the camper (like ... last April) ... I've not seen any LIVE ones until TODAY! I don't know what there is about my campers, but they seem to really like them. None on the inside yet, but saw 4 on the outside skin of the camper this after noon. I guess they are coming back now! "That time of year?" Looks like I'll be picking up some extra bug bombs from Dollar General and set them off ever couple weeks. We do stay in the camper, pretty much full time, although we are home. So, I guess, when setting off those bombs, we'll just have to go back to the house for a few hours .... (sigh!).

Yep, that time of year.

When the temperature drops off in the evening, down into the 50's or lower, they go looking for heat. I feel your just wasting time with bug bombs because if it warms up during the day then cools off down into the 50's at night, you're just going to get another group the next evening. It's really a loosing battle in the fall if you're in an area with a high population, and it sounds like you are. A small shop vac in the morning is about the best thing I've found to battle them. They can go through a crack that you can not even see and they will push right through the wiper seals on a slide.

[dhull]

I found the darn things in the pleats of air filter for onan generator!

[DutchmenSport]

Update: Well, since I set the bug bomb off the last time in the camper (like ... last April) ... I've not seen any LIVE ones until TODAY! I don't know what there is about my campers, but they seem to really like them. None on the inside yet, but saw 4 on the outside skin of the camper this after noon. I guess they are coming back now! "That time of year?" Looks like I'll be picking up some extra bug bombs from Dollar General and set them off ever couple weeks. We do stay in the camper, pretty much full time, although we are home. So, I guess, when setting off those bombs, we'll just have to go back to the house for a few hours .... (sigh!).

[Lynnmor]

Guineas eat em' Bugs

The farm across the road has about half a dozen guinea fowl that visit me about twice a day. I actually enjoy their visits because they clean up disgusting things under my bird feeders as well as help with the bug population. The sad thing is that there is an occasional fatality when crossing the road. And no, people won't slow down for birds, people or anything else.

[down_home]

Whatever birds will eat them, put out a lot of birdhouses for them.
We have one little crew o family of bluish grey feathers with slightly black crest that unfortunately nest on one of our fans on the east porch, they sit n the railings and nearby trees and catch every bug that comes into the area. Don't know if they cthc stink bugs or not. And we have three families of crows that patrol the yard/field every day several times a day catching bugs plus the turkeys, If someone knows what birds eat them then tell us.We have a few stink bugs but no many. I will definatly build bird houses for any birds that will eat them. I had understood not many birds would.

[Bert_Ackerman]

HadEnough wrote:
Wow. Thanks for that information. And I didn’t know those things were stink bugs. I see those every fall. They try to come in doors to stay warm. From Florida to New Hampshire I have seen these. And everywhere in between.

They are so big, that I’ve never tried to crush one. I figured it would make a mess. Little did I know it would make a stink. LOL so instead, I just capture them into a cup and whip them outside the door.

You don't always have to crush them, a lot of times just picking them up is enough for them to let loose the stink. Although annoying their are plenty of other things that stink a heck of a lot more. Sucking them up with a vacuum will usually result in them letting loose the stank in the vacuum, and it's exhaust will do a fine job of spreading it around.

[HadEnough]

Wow. Thanks for that information. And I didn’t know those things were stink bugs. I see those every fall. They try to come in doors to stay warm. From Florida to New Hampshire I have seen these. And everywhere in between.

They are so big, that I’ve never tried to crush one. I figured it would make a mess. Little did I know it would make a stink. LOL so instead, I just capture them into a cup and whip them outside the door.

[Bert_Ackerman]

HadEnough wrote:
Is this mostly in Indiana problem? Because I’m going to avoid that state if so. LOL

Nope. Looks like there is only 5 states you need to consider visiting, not sure how you get from some to the others though.

Wiki.............

The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, the Korean peninsula, and Taiwan. In September of 1998 it was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it is believed to have been accidentally introduced. The nymphs and adults of the brown marmorated stink bug feed on over 100 species of plants, including many agricultural crops, and by 2010–11 had become a season-long pest in orchards in the Eastern United States. In 2010, in the Mid-Atlantic United States, $37 million dollars in apple crops were lost, and some stone fruit growers lost more than 90% of their crops. It is now established in many parts of North America, and has recently become established in Europe and South America.

By 2009, this agricultural pest had reached Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Oregon. In 2010 this pest was found in additional states including Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and other states.

As of November 2011, it had spread to 34 U.S. states and by 2012 to 40, and showed an increase of 60% in total numbers over 2011.

Their populations have also spread to southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada.