The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB)
Summer Months Bring Fruit and Crop Stink Bugs
Brown marmorated stink bug feeds on a wide variety of host plants, including a variety of fruits (e.g., apples, stone fruits including peaches and apricots, figs, mulberries, citrus fruits, and persimmons), crops (e.g., beans, corn, tomatoes and soybeans) and many ornamental plants and weeds. Feeding in beans and okra may cause scarred, sunken areas and deformed pods, while feeding on fleshy fruit, such as tomatoes and peppers, can produce spongy areas and internal tissue damage.
Brown marmorated stink bugs can produce allergic reactions (rhinitis and/or conjunctivitis) in individuals who are sensitive to the bugs' odor (the defensive chemicals can be an aeroallergen). Individuals sensitive to the odors of cockroaches and lady beetles may be particularly affected by BMSB. Additionally, if the insects are crushed or smashed against exposed skin, they can produce dermatitis at the point of contact; there has not been much research in this regard, although it appears to affect only a small percentage of the population.
How do Alpha Scents Traps help?
For effective intervention, it is necessary to monitor BSMB population levels. In general, constant monitoring is recommended.
For effective intervention, it is necessary to monitor BSMB population levels. In general, constant monitoring is recommended.
Alpha Scents Clear Panel Trap paired with strong light have an effective component to remove dozens of these garden predators per week. Get rid of Stink Bugs with this Stink Bug Clear Panel Trap - Alpha Scents. You can hang the trap under the light on your porch and every evening you will capture several bugs. The late summer captures of BMSB adults and nymphs stages by traps baited with the pheromone are good indicators for the pest presence (or absence) in the garden and orchard.
Hand picking bugs, sweeping into drowning buckets, and constant monitoring is suggested.
For more information on these and other common alternatives for BSMB pest monitoring refer to Provisional Guidelines For Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Control In Almond—UC IPM (ucanr.edu)
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