A new Garden Invader in my state.

[journey11]

How ironic...just a second ago I read this article from my local news. And just a couple hours prior I plucked a bunch of these guys off of a bucket full of swiss chard that I had brought in for dinner. They were climbing up and out of the bucket in a hurry once I brought it inside. I had never seen them before and wondered if they were a good buggie or a bad buggie. DD6 and I Googled and identified them as the Harlequin bug. A type of stink bug that is a big pest in the South East.

Look out, Monty and Dew... They're headin' your way!

Well, I guess I'll go back out tomorrow morning with a bucket full of dishsoap water. Handpicking seems to be one of the best ways to deal with them. The bright orange and black pattern really makes them stand out and they're easy to spot.

Another invader has increased this year too--the big gray stink bugs that try to come into your house on these last few warm, sunny, fall days. I don't know what their real name is, just a type of stink bug. We saw just a couple in the house last year, but there have been a handful or so on each of the window screens the past couple of days, trying to make their way inside. (ETA: Found their ID...the Brown marmorated stink bug .)

Must have something to do with the mild winters we've had the past couple of years...

Figures! Just when we finally got leveled out on the invasion of the orange Asian ladybeetles. We used to get thousands of those in my MIL's house and also in our attic here. They finally dwindled down to only a few each winter. The smell of them seriously (no kidding) makes my DH turn pale and nearly pass out.

 

[hoodat]

Spinosad is the only organic spray I've found that does a decent job on stink bugs. Be sure to spray as late in the day as possible to hold down bee damage and don't let it drift to plants the bees are working.

 

[digitS']

The world is a scary place, Journey! I think I can understand having a breathing problem around some bugs. Some really do stink!

Often, bugs come with their plant hosts. The plant is invasive - so is the bug!

I have been curious about the Black Locust tree. (Kind of sounds like an invasive bug/plant combo, doesn't it?) I was reading sometime ago about attempts to control it in Germany. My response, "Oh! So that's where it comes from! Another Eurasian invasive!" Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

As with a number of other things, potato beetles come reluctantly to mind, the Europeans are suffering from the Age of Exploration. The Black Locust is from Southeast United States! I wish it hadn't have come here! It has maybe 1 week out of 52 when it isn't unpleasant to have around. It smells nice when the flowers first open . . . briefly. Then, it doesn't smell all that nice. Then, the real problems begin!

Trying to find out what a bug is that shows up on top of my garden flowers has led me right back to the Black Locust tree. It is a Locust Borer (link). Fortunately, it isn't really a garden pest. I could NOT figure it out. I never saw any flower damage but I guess they eat pollen so that's what they are doing there. Then, they return to the locust trees, lay eggs and their babies bore holes in the trees.

That might not be so great. Those branches are heavy and dropping off during a windstorm because they are riddled with holes - I bet that causes a lot of problems. I recently saw a branch that went completely thru a roof. I don't know what damage was done inside but the residents moved out and there has been work on that house for over a year!

Steve

 

[journey11]

Thanks for the recommendation, Hoodat. I am going to have to be more faithful about spraying. I have had a hard time this past 2 years with being timely about it. As busy as the kids keep me, anything that I can leave for "later" usually gets forgotten completely. The veggies, I can get away with it. But not my poor roses...

I don't know much about these harlequin bugs' migration, other than they came up from the south. They are drawn to anything in the cabbage family, but will also settle for what they can get. The Asian ladybeetles died back as their food source (aphids) was reduced. I am not sure what it would take to level out the stink bugs. They are much more adaptable.

Steve, the biggest problem we have with the black locusts has been their habit of sprouting from the roots. It's especially bad if you cut down the main tree, then it makes a great effort to reproduce. Some folks will deliberately cut down one tree in order to grow a thick grove of perfectly straight saplings which will later be cut to make some of the most indestructible fence posts you can get your hands on (minus the $8 per post cost!) Not good if you are trying to clear a section of your land for some other useful purpose though. :/

I haven't noticed any stench to them, but my sense of smell isn't all that great anyway from constant sinus problems. I do smell the beautiful blooms in the spring though. It's a really intoxicating smell on a humid evening, similar to how honeysuckle hangs in the air. The black locust doesn't grow well in the lower elevations around here, but we have 1000's of them on my ridge. They are a very important nectar source for my honeybees since they come on early in the spring.

I have seen the locust borers on my marigolds and other flowers. I didn't know what they were. I really need to take the time to make a greater effort to identify all the buggies I see on my property, whether they are harmful, helpful or neutral. Good stuff to know! Maybe DD6 and I will start a pinboard for a science project. She loves bugs.

 

[digitS']

. . . I haven't noticed any stench to them, but my sense of smell isn't all that great anyway from constant sinus problems. I do smell the beautiful blooms in the spring though. It's a really intoxicating smell on a humid evening, similar to how honeysuckle hangs in the air. The black locust doesn't grow well in the lower elevations around here, but we have 1000's of them on my ridge. They are a very important nectar source for my honeybees since they come on early in the spring.

I have seen the locust borers on my marigolds and other flowers. I didn't know what they were. I really need to take the time to make a greater effort to identify all the buggies I see on my property, whether they are harmful, helpful or neutral. Good stuff to know! Maybe DD6 and I will start a pinboard for a science project. She loves bugs.

No, I didn't mean they begin to smell bad. Just that they make a mess of things like 12 months each year. Those seedpods never seem to stop falling, lose leaves right thru the growing season and branches during windstorms. Seeds are poisonous . . .

Walking thru a thicket of black locust must be near impossible with all the thorns! They will puncture tires!

The honey bees . . . Yes, I bet they enjoy a feast!

Steve

 

[dewdropsinwv]

We already have the green/brown stink bugs here.... they are horrible.!!!!!!!!! I'm on a stink bug war.... ME: about 2,000 Stink bugs: 0

 

[897tgigvib]

Lizards really love eating harlequin bugs and their relatives! Oh yea! Bluebelly lizards and blue tailed racer skinks, and whatever those colorful brown ones are. Toads probably like them too.

check into what your local lizards eat. Then, pay a bunch of kids a dollar each healthy one brought, lol! bigfoot kids are great lizard catchers...

 

[journey11]

LOL, that might explain why I have so many of those blue tailed skinks running around then! Glad to know somebody's on my side up here!

I misunderstood you then, Steve. But you could tell me they stink and I wouldn't know otherwise.

 

[897tgigvib]

I've seen the bluebelly Lizards get all excited when they spot a bug. They are so fast. Suddenly the bug is gone and the lizard is gulping it down. I don't think they chew on it, just gulp it down live. (Eeeeeeuuuwieeeeeeeeee!)

The 8 to 11 year old kids are most keen on catching Lizzies. The bigfoot kids around here don't need to be paid to bring them. I just had to convince them not to kill the lizzies, and to leave "Stumpy" alone. Stumpy seems to be the King Lizard around here.

Garter Snakes are great to have too.
Frogs and Toads when they are around. I think the Garter Snakes get them though.
Bats fly around at night getting mostly Mosquitos and gnats.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Another member of the stink bug family is the squash bug. Hoodat, you said you use to live in this general area, just over in Oklahoma, and quit trying to grow squash because of the squash bug. Most years I agree with you but for some reason the squash bugs have not been a problem this year until real late in the season. That wilt disease they spread didnt show up either. I dont have a clue why with the squash bugs not showing up much, but the green stink bugs have been real bad. After seeing those photos I think I saw a few harlequins but not many.

Any stink bugs are real hard to control by poisons. They dont chew the plant, they suck out the juices, so you have to use a contact poison, not one they eat. And you have to spray the bug or at least totally cover the plant and hope they get some on them while the poison is still active. They are pretty fast at running away and good at hiding.

I kill any I can catch and destroy any eggs I find, but thats it for what I try to do with stink bugs. Ive given up on trying to spray them with anything. Its just not effective enough to make it worth putting any poison in the garden for me, organic or otherwise. Other than the squash bugs the only real damage I see is to the tomatoes and I can live with that, I just cut it out.