If you live in Northern Virginia, I am sure that you may have a stink bug or two at your house. Stink bugs are an invasive species from Asia. They accidentally came to the United States in the 1990s. There are numerous invasive plants in the area. I should not be surprised that there are invasive insects. I am sure that stink bugs are not the only invasive species of insect in the area. However, they are  obvious and plentiful. Read on to find out more about these insects.

Stink Bug Characteristics

Stink bugs belong to the insect family known as Pentatomids. There are two common ones in the area, the brown marmorated one and the green one. However, there are about 15 species of these bugs. This is mostly about the brown marmorated ones. Stink bugs have distinct characteristics. First, they have hard, brownish grey, five sided bodies. Second, they are about ¾” in length. Third, these bugs have sucking mouth parts. They are mostly used to destroy plants. Consequently, they aren’t known for biting humans. Finally, and most obviously, they produce a foul smell from glands underneath their bodies.

Infestations

Home

These bugs love cozy warm places to hide. As a result, they over-winter in houses via cracks and crevices, behind walls, siding, and other out of the way, warm places. When the weather warms up, they reemerge, looking for warm sunny spots. Since they love protected tight areas, the best defense is to seal up cracks and crevices.

Crops and Gardens

These bugs eat a wide variety of plant material including garden plants and ornamental plants. Luckily, they don't usually attach mature hardwood trees. Their sucking mouth parts are responsible for a considerable amount of crop and plant damage. Unfortunately, like almost all invasive species, they don’t have any natural predators in the US. Pesticides and traps are available for use against stink bugs.