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!!!
Thanks for the BMSB & nice blog site!.
The little stinkers arrived safe and sound and are enjoying our Jalapeño and Habanero pepper plants, seeds, carrots and of course, plugged into a beautiful Crimson Crisp apple. Our colony has just begun laying eggs on the pepper foliage that we will use to rear the Samurai wasp. We’ll be sending them out in early May. All the best Jen…Peter
I have one more on my counter. I was hoping that maybe some of our customers would help with the collection. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for including us!!! Jenn
What a timely article! I just found one floating in my coffee makers reservoir (??) this morning. So I’m sure there will be more. Will definitely trap and deliver! (Shared from Facebook white fences inn)
Great. Thanks for your help!!
We have lots of stink bugs, too. I would like to see less of them, especially if they are harming your orchards! However, I wonder, are there negative outcomes with introducing these wasps? Do we already have a population of them on the east end of LI?
Hello Robin,
We do have a growing population of stink bugs on the Island. There are no negative outcomes to introducing these wasps. They are a natural parasite to these sting bugs, and will concentrate on the stink bugs. I’m hoping it will help to reduce the population without using a chemical that may not even work anyway. Hope this answers helps!
Hello Jennifer. I will try to help if I can overcome my disgust of stink bugs! Questions: samurai wasps look ferocious. Do they sting? Are they destructive to anything other than stink bugs? Do they have any natural predators to keep their population in check?
Hello Ellen,
I know these stink bugs are the worst. The samurai wasps are actually a natural predator to the stink bug. They will only concentrate on the stink bugs. Also, there are many Entomologists concentrating on this project. I do not know if they sting, but I do know they are extremely small in size. If it can help reduce the stink bug population without relying on a chemical I’m glad to try to use them. Thanks for your help!