God i hate this bug its a big and growing problem in NJ

Today was the first time i have seen one by my home in manahawkin but i deal with them every day in north ocean and all of Monmouth and northern countys...
once it gets cold out you think its over but no they are taking shelter in the rooftop heating units to stay alive..

This is a good article about them please read it so your a bit more educated about them...


If you live in stink bug country, you may have noticed that you’re not home alone anymore.


Clinging to your screens, creeping up your walls, hiding in your lamp shades and nestling in your laundry basket are the latest home invaders of the buggy sort.



The brown marmorated stink bug is on the move, sneaking its way into your house, if not your heart, as it seeks a warm and cozy place to spend the winter.



This prehistoric-looking bug, shield-shaped and dressed in dull brown, is appearing in large numbers this season in many parts of the state, making strong men recoil and little children shriek. We women, of a more practical bent, plot their demise or just threaten to pack our bags and leave.



Where did they come from and what are they up to? The stink bugs in question are Chinese imports, first reported around Allentown, Pa., in 1996.

They probably arrived in packing material with shipped goods — isn’t everything we buy these days made in China? Since touching down in America, the Asian stink bug has made remarkable progress for an insect that can take half an afternoon to make its way across your living room.

They have infiltrated the mid-Atlantic states and made inroads into the Pacific Northwest, where a separate colony is spreading out. They are rapidly overtaking populations of native stink bugs, which mainly plague cotton farmers in the Southeast. Marmorated stink bugs are well on their way to becoming an agricultural pest and a nuisance to homeowners, who frankly don’t wish to share their homes with the lower orders.

First identified in Milford in 1999, stink bugs are now found throughout New Jersey. During warm weather, they are busy making more stink bugs, feeding on home and orchard crops and lurking in evergreens, especially spruce, pine, hemlock and fir. As soon as the nights cool, though, your house looks very good to them, and they seek entry through any tiny crevice, torn screen, unprotected vent or loose bit of flashing.

Here’s the good news: They don’t reproduce indoors and they don’t feed on much of anything. They can’t bite, lacking mouth parts, but if you mess with them, they might try to stab you with the same sharp proboscis they use to pierce fruit and suck plant juices. They can’t be poisonous, either, since the Vietnamese actually treat them as ingredients in their cuisine — crunchy-fried, like popcorn. Mmmm.

The bad news is that, like skunks, they are equipped with glands that squirt a foul-smelling liquid as a defense against predators. The smell, alternately described as reminiscent of rancid almonds or moldy fruit, is released when they are crushed or disturbed. Of course, they also can suddenly fly up at you, adding to the Grade-B horror-movie effect.

Last year, I had a few of these buggers startle me with their creepy and unpredictable presence throughout the winter. Lighting a lamp, I would send one on a lumbering flight around the living room; drying my hair, I would find one staring balefully at me from atop the bathroom mirror — that sort of thing.

Since my house was recently and tightly caulked, I thought that perhaps they were making their way in around my window air conditioners despite diligent attempts to seal them out with double-sided tape and plastic film. A week or so ago I spotted a few on the outside of the film and decided to move the air conditioners into storage.

Oh . . . my . . . God. There must have been a hundred stink bugs secreted in the accordion pleats, hiding in the vent work and tucked into the adjustable air conditioner slides. I vacuumed them up — one of the best defenses — but escapees found their way into the folds of a jacket hung over the door, something I didn’t learn until I grabbed said jacket to put it on. Freak-out!

Vacuums with bags are good, since you can immediately seal, remove and discard them, buggy cargo and all. Bagless types? Not so good. I’d guess a small wet-dry shop vac would serve, since you could capture the offenders and then drown them by adding soapy water. Some enterprising souls, I have read, recycle stink bugs by serving them up to frogs, turtles or Venus fly traps – but really, let’s not go there.

One thing you want to avoid is crushing them, since the lingering scent can be detected by other stink bugs long after it has faded from our own olfactory memory and draw more stink bugs to your hearthside. Let’s not go there, either.

Unfortunately, stink bugs are well armored and not as susceptible to death by pesticide as one might hope. Pyrethroids are about the only class of insecticides that may work, but these are neurotoxins and best handled by professionals. Plus, you have to vacuum up the corpses anyway, so why not skip the chemicals?

DO NOT use bug bombs or dusts to try to rid yourself of amassed stinkers in attics
or wall voids where the vacuum cannot go. Stink bug corpses can attract scavenger insects like carpet beetles that will cause you real and expensive trouble.

You might see pitches to spray the exterior of your home as a hedge against invasion, but application must be properly timed and products degrade in a week or less. Comforting? Maybe. Cost-effective? Probably not. Better to spend your money tightening up caulking and repairing torn screens.

You’ll be happy to know that your government is on the case. The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service is working on a pheromone trap, similar to those that attract Japanese beetles with a come-hither scent. One day, these might divert stink bugs angling for a winter berth at your place.

The state Department of Agriculture, Rutgers Cooperative Extension and Rutgers University’s Department of Entomology want to enlist you in an effort to plot the inexorable spread of the stink bug in New Jersey. Capture some of those beasties and join the fight to keep stink bugs in their place.

WOW..Thanks Smitty..I have them around me and always wondered what the heck they were..

Murphthesurf wrote:WOW..Thanks Smitty..I have them around me and always wondered what the heck they were..

Yeah same here I always shooed them away. never stepped on one. THANK GOD.

there in the right state

we got them all over at work we figured they stowed away and made it here..... we just ignore them for the most part....

We have them up in Morris County. I was checking them out yesterday.

wow YT that ain't nice,
We have them here where I live to Smitty.
I hate the little bastards.

I get em horrible here in cherry hill.... drive me insane, I had one buzzing around today while I was trying to watch Swords:Life on the Line..... and you do NOT interrupt my fishing shows!! And here I am smacking them with a newspaper or paper towel... Great.

We get a similar looking stink bug in South Africa and they smell like freshly crushed Dhania (Corriader) leaves. I don't know how some people can put that in a green salad. Don't you guys just hate it when you switch off the light at night and they start to fly around just when you are about to fall asleep? Nasty little buggers!