Tag Archives: Stink bugs

Commercial Services, Insect Control, Pest Management

Time to Protect Your Property from Stink Bug Invasion Is Now

The annual invasion of the brown marmorated stink bug invasion is about to begin and smart New York City and New Jersey commercial building owners have already started scheduling commercial pest control appointments with Stern Environmental. The time to protect your building from stink bug invasion is now before chilly nights force these smelly insects to seek a warm place to spend the winter. Treating exterior building surfaces can help prevent the kind of horrible invasion that occurred when an estimated 100,000 stink bugs took up residence in a Virginia farm shed. (Click here to see the Washington Examiner video.)

An Asian transplant, brown marmorated stink bugs are prevalent in 40 states including New York and New Jersey and do more than $21 billion damage to U.S. crops each year. Pest control should be scheduled before stink bugs begin invading buildings, typically between mid-September and mid-October. Stink bugs seem to be particularly attracted to sunny, light-colored surfaces. In early fall, great numbers of these insects may be seen blanketing sunny exterior building walls. Their goal is to slip inside where they will overwinter in attics and in voids inside walls, behind trim and cabinets and under flooring.

The warm winter has produced a bumper crop of these pests. Don’t wait until these pests start invading. Contact Stern Environmental today to schedule commercial pest control services.

Pest Control, Pest News, Wasps

Top 5 New Jersey Summer Pests Announced

Experts have been warning New Jersey residents to expect an inundation of cicadas and mosquitoes this summer, but that won’t be the end of our pest woes. Entomologists at the University of Delaware cooperative extension recently released a list of the top 5 insect pests for the mid-Atlantic states:

  1. Scale pests. Often overlooked because of their tiny size, parasitic scale insects suck the sap from landscape plants, killing their hosts.
  2. Wasps. Their painful stings earned wasps the No. 2 spot on this summer’s pest list. While only female wasps sting, their straight stingers allow these pests to sting repeatedly. Wasp stings are painful and can cause severe redness and swelling, as well as life-threatening allergic reactions.
  3. Bagworms. A perennial landscape pest, bag worms are recognizable the distinctive web-like nests they spin on tree limbs.
  4. Japanese beetles. Shiny green beetles with copper wings, these pests are deadly to roses, tress and 300 other plant species.
  5. Stink bugs. These shield-shaped insects cause untoward damage to agricultural and landscape plants and are a persistent nuisance in the fall when they creep inside to overwinter in New Jersey homes and commercial buildings.

When insects bother your home or business, seek the services of a licensed New York and New Jersey pest control professional.

 

Commercial Services, Insect Control, Pest Control, Pest Eradication, Pest Management, Pest News, Residential Services

Move Over Mr. Bed Bug…The Stink Bug Has Arrived Part II Of II

Image courtesy of Eugene E. Nelson, Bugwood.org
Image courtesy of Eugene E. Nelson, Bugwood.org

In continuation from Monday…

Stink bugs lay eggs that hatch in August.  Baby stink bugs (nymphs) look very similar to lady bugs and are not pesticide resistant like the adult ones have proven to be.  You can often find them lurking about your garden areas as they are easy to spot by their red and black colored bodies.  Baby stink bugs morph very quickly into mini versions of adult stink bugs.

Stink bugs have already proven to be a huge agricultural pest in New Jersey as well as many other locations across the United States.  These creepy bugs insert a straw-like piece of their mouth into soft fruits and vegetables in crops, orchards, and gardens alike.  These pesky bugs feast on a wide variety of host plants like corn, tomatoes, apples, peaches, figs, mulberries, citrus, soybeans, green peppers, lima bean, and green beans.  This insect sucks on the fruit or vegetable of its choice leaving it completely inedible.  The stink bug has already destroyed entire orchards throughout many states.  These stinky pests have also caused damage to many other types of plants that you typically find around NY and NJ homes and businesses.

Because stink bugs have no known predators in the United States, their populations continue to grow each year.  China and Japan entomologists recently discussed with US officials about introducing a new type of aggressive wasp into the United States that is a stink bug predator.  It stands to reason that government officials should be worried that the new wasp could also become a bothersome pest if it were to be introduced into the United States.

Stink bugs have proven to be very pesticide resistant.  Spraying pesticide in attics or wall voids should not be done because dead and decaying insects will attract other nuisance insects thereby creating a larger problem.  As the weather turns colder outdoors, stink bugs instinctively are trying to work their way indoors through any crack, crevice, door, window, or screen they can find. You can help keep stink bugs out by having Stern Environmental Group surround the perimeter of your home or business with insecticides to keep stink bugs away.

Commercial Services, Insect Control, Pest Control, Pest Eradication, Pest Management, Pest News, Residential Services

Move Over Mr. Bed Bug…The Stink Bug Has Arrived Part I Of II

2010 it seems has been quite the year for annoying household pests!  Bed bugs are going crazy across the United States and now we have a relatively new pest that is raising its ugly antennae to make us all nuts…the Halyomorpha halys, otherwise known as the stink bug is proving to be a difficult insect to eradicate!

Stink bugs are causing trouble for New York and New Jersey residents, and we are not alone.  These stinky pests have now been found in 22 different states, and before long, they will likely be found throughout the US.  The brown marmorated stink bug was accidentally transported to the US via packing material to Pennsylvania from their homeland in the Orient.  They originate in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.  They were first discovered in the United States about 15 years ago and each year since, have enjoyed a population increase.

Unlike bed bugs, stink bugs are not blood suckers nor do they crawl into bed with humans.  Stink bugs do not sting like a bee or wasp, nor do they bite like a spider or tick. They are however a particular nuisance for NY and NJ residents at this time of year because they are consistently trying to work their way indoors so that they can spend their winter in the warm and cozy indoor temperatures.

Stink bugs live up to their name by the odorous fumes that they emit when threatened, frightened, annoyed, vacuumed, or squished.  Their smell has been compared to a skunk or rotting musty feet.  Once a stink bug releases its horrible stench, it’s not uncommon for a room to clear until the odor has dissipated.  Stink bugs are about 17 mm long are brown-ish/gray-ish in color.  They have a shield shaped body, with patches of coppery or bluish-metallic colored small rounded depressions.