I’m sure many of you are finding stink bugs emerging in your homes. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) overwinters in homes and as it warms up they begin to emerge. As the population grows in our area it will soon be a problem in our orchard.
These insects are believed to have been accidentally introduced in Allentown, PA in the late 1990’s. Now that they are here, they are moving in and causing problems. Many areas in the North East have already been dealing with major populations of these stink bugs and a tremendous amount of damage.
We work closely with Cornell University and Peter Jentsch, a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Entomology for Cornell University’s Hudson Valley Laboratory. He’s been working on a project to build a population of Samurai Wasps to redistribute into areas where the population of stink bugs has grown.
(http://blogs.cornell.edu/jentsch/2020/02/13/2020-samurai-wasp-project-we-need-your-brown-marmorated-stink-bug-alive/).
These wasps will be a more sustainable long-term solution to deal with the Stink Bug population. Once they are redistributed they will build up populations that will kill the BMSB eggs and slowly the BMSB populations will decrease.
Peter also has a “Citizen Science Effort for Redistribution of Samurai Wasp in NYS.” (https://blogs.cornell.edu/jentsch/2019/03/13/join-in-hvrl-efforts-for-redistribution-of-samurai-wasp-in-nys-in-2019/)
In order to build a population of the Samurai Wasps, eggs from the BMSB are needed, which means Stink Bugs are needed. I’ve been collecting Stink Bugs that have been emerging in my house and sending them to Peter Jentsch. If anyone else is annoyed with these critters I’m glad to send them along as well. Bring them to the store on Montauk Highway, Water Mill or email me: jennhalsey@milk-pail.com Keep them in a container with small ventilation holes and a baby carrot. This will keep them until they can be sent to the Hudson Valley. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Once the weather has warmed up a bit more Peter will send along Samurai Wasps to me to introduce in our orchard. This will help reduce the population of BMSB in our orchard and reduce insecticide use. I’ve always worked closely with Cornell University and it’s researchers, and they have always been extremely helpful to us and our farm. Being able to control this insect with a reduction of insecticide use is very important to us.
Find those critters!!!