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pests Stink bugs in the Pacific NW

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z_malloc

Last year was the first time I saw them around these parts ( portland / vancouver ).  I've heard that they might be an invasive species moving in to this area.  Have any of you other PNW folks been seeing a rise in their populations?
 
Hate em so much. Kill several daily by hand.
 
This year, I had them lay eggs on two of my pepper plants. Found and eradicated them on the 7 pot. They hatched on the Mako Akoksrade, and I spend the next several days manually picking them off and smashing them. Wiley little babies. They liked to cluster at the top of a pod and feed.
 
Other than the small guys, I haven't seen any adults on my plants.
 
Yes, lots of the invasive Asian version last year in Tualatin. I squished a bunch on my plants but never saw any significant damage. The buggers seemed to even find their way into my house. I've only seen one so far in Boise on my porch.
 
Invasive is putting it lightly. Stink bugs have been a plague on the east coast. It sure didn't take them long to get far west. They will eat pepper plants and pods if a more preferred food is not available, like tomatoes. 
 
I had them destroy my pumpkins, watermelons, cucumbers and most of my tomatoes this year unfortunately.  Hate the bastards!  Basically destroyed my whole garden.  I didn't check my garden for about a week and in that time there were literally thousands upon thousands of them everywhere.  Im in TN tho.
 
Roguejim said:
So, what's the preferred insecticide for the stinkers?
Click to expand...
 
There aren't any pesticides (legal for public use) that can kill them. And they don't have any predators. I have heard there are indoor sprays that people can buy at Lowes but have heard mixed results. There is nothing for garden use that has been effective.
 
Birds will sometimes eat them, but there are many other insects that they prefer and are available. 
 
Been doing a little looking around online and there are numerous reports that hot water and dish soap kills them.  Videos on youtube showing them getting sprayed and dying within a minute or two.  As far as I can tell the way it works is, they breath through pores (spiracles) on their abdomens and the soap clogs them causing suffocation surprisingly quick!
 
Spiracle: an opening in the exoskeleton of an insect that opens into the tracheae of the insect respiratory system
http://thedragonflywoman.com/2011/07/11/#attachment_4967
stink-bug.jpg

 
Gonna have to do some of my own testing and see how well it goes.  Obviously even if this does work, it has the downside that you must see and hit them.  Setting a pan of soapy water out with a desk lamp lighting it reportedly works too, but seems rather impractical.
 
It never ceases to amaze me how sneaky the little bastards are. They see you walking up and they run and hide.  They kinda remind of of cockroaches in that way.
 
I've seen a few of the green buggers outside of the garden, and what looked like stinkbug damage on a few 'maters, but nothing serious.
 
For the first time, I have found them up here in the Seattle area on my fruit trees this year as well as my raspberry plants.  Nothing on the peppers that I have seen, but based on what I am reading here, that will just be a matter of time.
 
They sure do have a stink when you smash them!
 
I am sorry to hear that the stink bugs have made their way to the west. They are horrible creatures and plague is a correct description of what they have become on the east coast.

I clean them up with a vacuum cleaner, or a carry out soup container with soapy water in it. Just dunking them in water does nothing, they need the soap as a surfacant to help them drown. I haven't had a problem with them on my pepper plants but they invade my attic and house every spring. Having a 100+ year old house leaves many ways for them to get in...

-Alden
 
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