Stinkbugs!

MarkBNJ

Piney
Jun 17, 2007
1,875
73
Long Valley, NJ
www.markbetz.net
They're everywhere up here, clinging to the screens, crawling on the railings. I just smelled a weirdly awful smell and felt a tickling on my neck and found one there. I didn't think they sprayed unless threatened or crushed, but I'm guessing the bug and the smell weren't a coincidence. They're slippery and hard to pick up, you don't want to crush them, and you don't want them to die in the house because they're meaty and beetles love them. I read that the population is higher the further south and west you go. Is anyone down in the south part of the state seeing larger numbers of them this year?
 

mudboy dave

Explorer
Oct 15, 2008
950
19
42
atco
opentrailsnj.org
not only are they meaty but the stink is a ferimone so if you crush them you must pick up the carcass and clean up the mess or more will come. They invaded from China to PA as early as 98.
 

DeepXplor

Explorer
Nov 5, 2008
341
19
Jersey Shore
My friends in the Honeybrook area of Chester County, PA, have them. I don't see them in my normal travels of Marlton, Medford, Tabernacle and Ocean township. I am sure that they will come.
 

MuckSavage

Explorer
Apr 1, 2005
599
218
56
Turnersville
We had about 12 of them on the east side of the house a few days ago. It was the woprst we've had here in Turmersville. Also, we have some taking up residence in our motorhome. In between us using the RV, it sits in storage where the interior temps have been above 110 degrees. The stinkbugs still survive.
 

wanderlust

New Member
Mar 4, 2009
18
0
49
South Jersey
We moved to the Mullica Hill area a couple years ago from the west suburbs of Philly in Chester County. They were HORRIBLE there, I counted over a hundred on the side of our house at one point.

We had a few here and there last year so I was really surprised how bad they are this year.
 

lakesgirl

Explorer
Jan 3, 2010
133
0
collings lakes
apparently not just here...I was watching one of the network news channels yesterday aand they said the stinkers are horrible all over the north east. Something about not using those "wonderful" pesticides have allowed them to reach these proportions.
 

cranbrake

Scout
Jun 3, 2009
79
9
i'm not about to bring marine toads to the pines or anything...... i wonder what, if any,native animal(s) eat them.
 

MarkBNJ

Piney
Jun 17, 2007
1,875
73
Long Valley, NJ
www.markbetz.net
i'm not about to bring marine toads to the pines or anything...... i wonder what, if any,native animal(s) eat them.

According to an article in the NYT today they have no natural predators here, and there is no agreement on a control regime at this point. They do a lot of damage to fruit and other crops, so the government is looking at it, but they don't really have a clue on them yet.
 

piker56

Explorer
Jan 13, 2006
640
53
67
Winslow
the government is looking at it....
Yay! We're saved! (just kidding)

I did my annual shed clean out on Sunday. There were so many stink bugs I tried one of those foggers. I set it off, shut the door and waited 2 hours, opened the shed door and they just about covered the floor.
Greg
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,637
8,243
I have found them to be quite good on top of Cheerios. Very crunchy.

Don't even joke about that. I was eating cereal one morning with my eyes closed because I was so tired, and when I opened them there was a dead fly in my spoon. I eat with my eyes open now.


Guy
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,204
4,301
Pines; Bamber area
Don't even joke about that. I was eating cereal one morning with my eyes closed because I was so tired, and when I opened them there was a dead fly in my spoon. I eat with my eyes open now.

Guy

Hey, you caught it in time. I once bet a guy $10 that he would not eat a fly. He did.
 

LBwonderer

New Member
Oct 12, 2010
3
0
Long Branch
Kill!

Instead of crushing them which will release the smell an effective (yet tedious) way to kill them is by coaxing them into a little paper cup or something and dousing it with windex (or some other cleaner WITH AMMONIA) particularly on its underside. If you just spray the top of it it'll just keep moving along. The ammonia is the key and as far as I read one of the very few chemical agents that affect them. After about a minute or two in an ammonia bath they go on to stinkbug hell- the only place they could possibly come from!
 

MarkBNJ

Piney
Jun 17, 2007
1,875
73
Long Valley, NJ
www.markbetz.net
Instead of crushing them which will release the smell an effective (yet tedious) way to kill them is by coaxing them into a little paper cup or something and dousing it with windex (or some other cleaner WITH AMMONIA) particularly on its underside. If you just spray the top of it it'll just keep moving along. The ammonia is the key and as far as I read one of the very few chemical agents that affect them. After about a minute or two in an ammonia bath they go on to stinkbug hell- the only place they could possibly come from!

There are too many of them to execute in that manner, at least around my place. I just scoop them up in a cupped hand and throw them back outside. I should start marking them to see how many come back in.

Bob, I once ate a whole handful of ants, but not on purpose. We lived in upstate NY and one day in late spring, after school, I grabbed a handful of Cap'n Crunch from a box in the cupboard, and noticed that they tasted sort of sour... or like there were sour/pungent bits in with the sweet bits. Looked in the box and saw tons of black ants.
 
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