Getting to Know: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

By now many of us have seen these pesky little stink bugs coming into our homes in late fall and reappearing throughout the winter. I personally like to watch their antics as they crawl about. However, I'm not too fond of invasive species, so I'm at a crossroads when coming upon a straggler within my home.

Fortunately, these bugs don't bite, they don't ruin the insides of your home or anything like that. They're simply winter visitors that just happen to enjoy being warm in the winter. It's what they do outside that's the problem.

Like many of its relatives, the BMSB feeds on a variety of fruits, vegetables, ornamentals and agri-crops. Examples include peaches, pears, apples, raspberries, grapes, beans, peppers, soybeans, corn, redbud, walnut, maples, catalpas, holly, butterfly bush, honeysuckles and roses, just to name a few.

As you can see from the photograph, they have the common "shield" shape that other stink bugs have. However, you will notice the distinguishing characteristics as circles and marked in red.

Controlling the BMSB inside the home is as simple as finding where they are coming in and sealing the hole. Common points of entry include cracks around window frames and doors, exhaust fans, baseboards or chimneys. They may not be the only things getting in; other arthropods could use these same entrances and you may be losing energy to these holes. 

Stinkbug crawling on my phone charger.

Although you can't tell from this picture I snapped with my phone, the BMSB has white stripes on its legs and antennae, along with an almost checkered pattern along its sides.

Outside it's a bit more complicated. As an invasive pest -- it came to PA around 1996 from China or Japan -- it doesn't have the common predators that other stink bugs do; yet like other stink bugs, they will swarm and infest crops. Chemicals are being developed and introduced as a way to help curb the populations, however, that just sounds horrible to me.

For a more detailed photo, check out Rutgers' BMSB page here.