What Do You Call A Dead Stink Bug?………….Ex Stink!
Although our weather is still quite warm during the day the morning temperatures are quite chilly and the sun disappears much too early in the evening. It is a sure sign, along with a few turning leaves that Fall is just around the corner. This is when gardeners will again be working hard to harvest, transplant and generally clean up the yard and garden! Hopefully this can all be done before the snow flies.
Fortunately we have finally received a little rain in the last week a modest but a well welcomed treat. I don’t see any real promise of rain in the next week or longer so many of our trees will have a rough winter if we do not get a nice downpour so it might be wise to do a heavy watering in the near future. This will be very important for hedges and ornamentals.
Another sure sign of the approaching cooler weather is the appearance of a few Stink Bugs although not near as many as usual. They do not like the cold and will be looking for a suitable habitat for the winter. There are many types of Stink Bug that are native to our area and many of them are beneficial predators but the majority that I’m seeing are an invader to our country having hitched a ride via ship or plane hiding in containers, packing material, cargo and vehicles.
Their native home is in Korea, Japan, China and other Asian regions and it is the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug that is becoming quite a pest in North America both the U.S. and Canadian government has put out bulletins calling them a public nuisance.
This newly introduced pest is responsible for nearly 50 million in agricultural losses every year and loves to dine on the fruit and leaves of fruit trees, ornamental bushes and trees including Cedar hedges and most of the items one plants in the garden peppers, tomatoes, corn and squash to name a few.
They not only damage what they attack but they also make it possible for disease to enter the fruit and plant causing total loss. A lot of study is being put into finding natural predators and solutions to minimize their damage. The adult Stink Bug lays about 20 to 30 eggs on the underside of a leaf which she will do periodically through the spring and summer to a total of 400 eggs on average per summer. These eggs will hatch in about a week or so depending on the temperature.
These newly hatched Nymph are bright orange or red in colour and will do little damage at this point. Its growth pattern is a series of changes until adulthood that in total will take 76 days. After its first presentation it changes and the Nymph will scatter and start their feasting and inflict their damage.
There are few predators that are interested in them as a food source and they are only partially effective in keeping the numbers in check and these include spiders, bats, cockroaches, fire ants, lacewings, praying mantis and a few none stinging wasps will plant their eggs in the eggs of the Stink Bug and devour the developing nymph.
Most of these predators focus on the eggs but there are some birds that will devour the adults such as Cardinals, Wrens and Blue Birds. At this time of year they are looking for a winter home and houses, sheds and outbuildings are their favourite locations and although they do not bite humans or animals they will on occasion wake up and fly around the house although this is not a big issue it is annoying and swatting them will evoke the stink that they are named for.
At this point of their existence they are not reproducing and they do not eat and cause no damage, it is called Diapause. They simply want a warm winters refuge. They can get into your home by means of any small opening so be sure to caulk around windows and doors.
Check your foundation for any cracks and put caulking or steel wool around any plumbing fixtures that may give them access. If you have a wood stove or fireplace be sure to install a mesh at the top that will block their access. You can also make a spray of 2 cups hot water, 1 cup vinegar, and 1 cup dish soap and spray it around the exterior of your window and door frames. In the garden you can plant French Marigold, Radish and Chrysanthemum to repel them or plant French Marigold, Buckwheat and Tansy to encourage parasitic wasps to destroy them.
Happy Gardening!
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567
sam1nason@gmail.com
