After enduring a twenty-month house renovation project, my husband and I spent our first night in our “new” home this week. It was delightful. Yes, there are a few punch list items remaining, but it was nirvana compared to the last year spent in the cramped loft apartment above our donkey barn. We don’t raise donkeys, understand, but the previous owners did and somehow the name stuck. Unfortunately, we are not the only creatures that moved into the house. With doors constantly open for the transference of furniture and a bazillion boxes, numerous stink bugs thought our place looked like the ideal spot to spend the winter.

Stink bugs, more exactly brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys), are native to Asia. They were unintentionally introduced to North America in the 1990s, most likely as stowaways in shipping containers. These invasive pests are concentrated in the mid-Atlantic US but have been found in 38 states.

Stink bugs do not bite people or pets. They don’t carry diseases but they cause extensive damage to food crops. They have piercing mouth parts to penetrate fruit so they can feed on juices. The Environmental Protective Agency reports that stink bugs feed on “numerous fruit, vegetable, and field crops including apples, apricots, Asian pears, cherries, corn (field and sweet), grapes, lima beans, nectarines and peaches, peppers, tomatoes and soybeans. Physical damage to fruit includes pitting and scarring, sometimes leading to a mealy texture. This injury makes the fruit unmarketable as a fresh product and in severe cases can even render the crop unusable for processed products.”

In autumn, stink bugs seek a warm spot to overwinter. Our houses look like great vacation resorts. Insects like to nestle down in the folds of clothing, draperies, or even hanging towels. They like bookcases and the small cracks where baseboards meet walls. If crushed or disturbed, these half-inch, shield-shaped insects release a nauseating smell. If you are sensitive to the odors produced by ladybugs and cockroaches, you may have a reaction to stink bugs also. Insects can be removed with a vacuum cleaner, but it will smell bad afterward. If you grab one, even with a tissue, the stench remains on your hands through numerous hand-washing episodes. Few insecticides are labeled for use against these varmints, but research is underway for a natural predator that will reduce populations without harming anything else. A parasitic wasp appears promising.

One simple way to remove a stink bug is to hold a (disposable) jar or small bucket of soapy water with a splash of vinegar underneath it. Jostle the intruder, give it a puff of morning breath, or otherwise make it feel threatened. The insect’s natural reaction is to drop straight down – into the Vessel Of Death.

The best defense is a good offense: Prevent invasion into your home by removing entry points. Caulk cracks in windows, door frames, and foundations. Weather-strip doors, including foundation access doors. Use a screened chimney cap to prevent a Santa maneuver.

While my focus is on keeping stink bugs out of my residence, the EPA reports that brown marmorated stink bugs can have a significant negative impact on American manufacturers: “Cars and other vehicles manufactured in areas of the United States where brown marmorated stink bugs are present must be fumigated or heated to temperatures over 122ºF for several hours before they are allowed into some international ports. The cost of these measures, which are intended to prevent introductions of brown marmorated stink bugs to new countries, can be significant.”

For all our sakes, let’s hope that the search for a biologic control is soon successful.