Stink Bugs

[Wisher1000]

I went out today and cleaned up the flowerbed below the wall in my back garden. It was cool but completely bearable in shorts and a t-shirt! I wore Crocks and used the sprayer on the hose to rinse the dirt off the blocks. As I was spraying the wall off, I noticed the slow march of hundreds of stink bugs starting up the wall from the remains of some ornamental potato vines that were still on the ground. My research tells me they are likely marmorated stink bugs and gave lots of advice for getting/keeping them out of the house. I want to know how to get them out of my flowerbed. I noticed a few of them on the backs of the sunflower heads this past summer but they have taken over. Anyone have any suggestions? I would like to do it organically. Do you think soap would work? I will use insecticides, if there is no other answer.

 

[digitS']

I don't think soap has much of a chance of killing them, Wisher.

Spinosad would likely work if they were larvae but what are out there now are adults, I'd guess.

If you really think they need to go - what I'd do is spray them with Pyrethrum (link). Note, that it is a "last resort" and it has zero residual value. You can get into a real repetitive situation if there are very many of them in the environment. Turning any plant wastes into the soil would probably be a good idea just so they don't have a place to hang out right where you don't want them.

Steve

 

[baymule]

EWWWWWW.......I hate stinkbugs. HUNDREDS of them? Double EWWWWWW!!!!! Maybe since they were marching up the brick wall, you could get a block of wood and smash them. That's about as organic as you can get!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I looked up the Mamorated Stink bug and found this. This has a pretty good picture and description so maybe you can get a positive ID. From what I read this is a fairly recently introduced pest that is hard to control and can cause pretty bad damage. They seem to swarm which sounds like what you are talking about.

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/controlling/stinkbugs/

Stink bugs feed by sucking juices from the plants. That means most insecticides won't work because they don't eat what's on the surface. It has to be some type of contact poison. I suggest you call your county extension agent and see what they say.

This sounds like a nasty one. Good luck!!

 

[vfem]

Yeah, I get those things all the time... and NCSU tells me there really isn't much control for them at all! They destroy many of my vines and tomatoes each year. The animals won't eat them, well, because they stink!

 

[MontyJ]

My wife has been killing them since they started moving in this fall. I was extremely skeptical of her solution until I actually witnessed it. She has a 1 quart spray bottle. Into the bottle she places (in her own words) "about a quarter cup" of Dawn dishliquid, then slowly fills the bottle with water. When she sees a stink bug, she just gives it a spray. I told her it would never work. Well, she proved me wrong. It doesn't kill instantly, but they definately die within 5-10 minutes. I don't know why it works, but I have seen it myself. It's just a single spray, not a stream. They don't fly afterwards; just crawl a little ways then die.
My own stinkbug removal was a little more high tech. I fashioned a filtered "catch can" out of a coffee can that fits onto the vacuum cleaner hose. The suction end is fitted with a screen so the bugs get sucked into the can but can't get into the vacuum. That way the vacuum doesn't get all stinky. If you know about bees, think similar to a bee vac.

 

[majorcatfish]

we were lucky this year have only found a hand full inside the house. last year we were invaded 10-20 every night went swimming the a beer bottle.

in the garden found that a strong mix of triazicide in a spray bottle works so you can be selective on what you spray.

 

[journey11]

Hey, I meant to tell you guys...if you don't already know...but those $20 stink bug pheromone traps do not work! All mine caught was slugs. And not even enough of those to justify spending $20 for it!