Some online Stink bug resources

Raul-02 · Jan 2, 2022

The document is too big to put here so here's a link to Google Docs

Untitled document

docs.google.com

It's all stuff I got online mostly from University or State Ag sites

JohnnyMX · Apr 25, 2022

Have been trying to find a way to kill off as many as possible for years. My wife has always bought very large "ferns" (two on the front porch and one between each garage bay). I spray them well with Home Defense. They seem to like to get into the ferns at night and then die by morning. They can hide in the nooks of the fern and it must be something with being near an opening. Each fall I have to blow off the porches and pad almost daily. It does nothing to the fern. Obviously, none of that works for an entire field, but I'll take every dead one I can get.

Raul-02 · Apr 25, 2022

JohnnyMX said:
Have been trying to find a way to kill off as many as possible for years.

I've been on a quest to learn how they do it in big Ag.
Fruit tree and tomato growers are particularly afflicted.
This is what I have learned:
FOREIGN MIGRANT LABOR
That's it. The bugs damage the crop long before any insecticide can stop them with their penetrating proboscis. So they have taken to hunting for the stinkers by literally searching the fields and woods around the orchards etc., turning leaves over, searching the eggs out, and killing them in the egg stage.
So learning the stinker's mating and egg-laying seasonality in your neck of the woods is key

jyoutz · Apr 25, 2022

I have heard that if you have a long growing season (I don’t), one solution is to plant some sacrifice zucchini early in the season. Let the plants become infested with squash (stink) bugs, then spray those plants with seven to kill that population. Then plow under and plant your real garden. My growing season is too short, so I just ring my squash plants with sevin dust and hope for the best.

kenmbz · Apr 25, 2022

We never seem to find stick bugs in my little (tiny) garden.
Strange as I do grow zucchini and have tons of the brown and leaf footed stick bugs.

Our big issue here is the lantern flies which kill some vine fruit and roses.

I will have to check this growing season and see what the stink bugs are feeding on to figure out how to target them.

Thanks for the info

old and tired · Apr 25, 2022

kenmbz said:
Our big issue here is the lantern flies which kill some vine fruit and roses.

Not looking forward to these guys, they were found in the town where our "mountain farm" is located...

I've work a wee bit in stink bugs over the years, we have glue them on to a Flight Mill and recorded how far they can fly (spoiler alert; pretty darn far!!)

We are currently looking at how they migrate into corn fields (basically where they come from) we search around the field edges and see where they first show up. I collected 2 years of data and now a student is getting a PhD (or master's not 100% sure)... The "thought" was they come from the woods and infest the corn edges then move into the field.

I would tell you that I found them mainly from Grassy areas and very much near Hay fields!! The last place they come from are woods (possibly there is enough food there that they are happy there). Grass and weeds dry down, they leave for greener stalks. Thankfully not doing that this year (student is taking the data).