What You Should Be Aware Of Before Stink Bugs Appear
Did you know that Reston, VA was founded by Robert E. Simon? And that the goal of the town was to have a community where people could live their whole lives without the need for long commutes? Now you do. The town is uniquely designed to have a mix of residential, commercial, and leisure properties that were part of Reston’s master plan.
Clearly, the idea behind the establishment of the town was quite noble. But you can be sure that there’s a possibility of something interfering with the plan. This post aims to ensure you enjoy your stay in Reston by helping you identify some bugs that have been found to damage many homes. You will learn how to identify stink bugs, understand the type of damage they can cause, and also know during which seasons they appear.
How do you identify stink bugs?
Stink bugs tend to be associated with the smell they produce. But rarely do you hear anything mentioned about their appearance. So to help you out when you have some strange bugs in your home, below is a clear description of what stink bugs look like.
Stink bugs are so named because of their ability to release droplets of aromatic compounds that smell and taste bad to predators. They only emit these substances when they sense that they are being threatened or endangered. This ability is hardly limited to insects in the stink bug family (Pentatomidae). In fact, many other insects emit odorous defensive chemicals, including leaf-footed bugs (Coreidae), darkling beetles (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae), and many caterpillars (e.g., Papilionidae).
Stink bugs can generally be distinguished from other insects by their shield-shaped body and their long straw-like mouthpart which they keep tucked under their bodies when it is not in use. Read more from Michigan State University…
Agricultural Significance
If you are a farmer or have a garden, you should watch out for this bug as it has been known to cause damage to crops that it has encountered. The types of damage range anywhere from feeding on leaves to scarring fruits. The damage as little as it can be makes fruits undesirable in markets and this causes huge losses for farms. So be on the watch out.
The brown marmorated stink bug can be a serious agricultural pest and has been observed feeding successfully on numerous fruit, vegetable, and field crops including apples, apricots, Asian pears, cherries, corn (field and sweet), grapes, lima beans, nectarines and peaches, peppers, tomatoes and soybeans.
Physical damage to fruit includes pitting and scarring, sometimes leading to a mealy texture. This injury makes the fruit unmarketable as a fresh product and in severe cases can even render the crop unusable for processed products. The brown marmorated stink bug also feeds on leaves, and a characteristic symptom of leaf injury is stippled areas approximately 1/8 inch in diameter around feeding sites. In addition to physical damage, wounds caused by feeding can provide an entryway for disease to attack the host fruit or plant. Read more from EPA…
Why am I seeing them now?
You will notice that like many other bugs, there are specific seasons when you will see stink bugs more than others. Why is this? Stink bugs also go into hibernation and tend to pop up when spring appears. They do this as they look for heat and that is why in your home, you will tend to see them more in heated rooms like the kitchen and the hot shower area.
As the weather cools down, these insects shut down. The same way we think of bears hunkering down and hibernating in a den stink bugs slow down all their body processes and wait for spring. Most of the time this happens in places in our house we can’t see, but sometimes these bugs wake up a little and move around.
When we get warm on sunny winter days or when we’re really cranking the thermostat, the stink bugs wake up a bit and move around in a half-awake stupor. They are slow-moving, clumsy, and heat-seeking, which explains why people most often see them slowly crawling around in their bathrooms (attracted to the heat of the shower) or in the kitchen (attracted to the heat of the stove). Read more from University Of Minnesota…
You do not have to go through the trouble of dealing with stink bugs by yourself, you can get a professional hand to sort them out for you. In Reston, Virginia you can get Backyard Bug Patrol to handle all your stink bug issues. Contact us today!