pests Stink Bugs - A Stange Conundrum

Captain Caliente

Captain Caliente

These magnificent creatures really piss me off. They cause discoloration, eat away at your pods and are the worst possible pests for anyone who grows hot peppers. Especially gourmet super hots.
 
However, there is a part of me that admires them. I wonder what goes through their tiny bug minds when they see a rainbow of hot pepper colors? Do they get as excited as we? Are they looking at these peppers and thinking to themselves; "I can't wait to eat that awesome shit"?
 
How do you folks deal with these pests? I use lady bugs and finger squashing. Never shall a chemical touch my beautiful peppers. I've always found great pleasure in smashing a newly hatched colony of this menace. I have carefully honed my stink bug hunting skills. The billions of years of evolution can be witnessed in my approach as predator stalks prey. But after killing thousand of these creatures it certainly occurs to me that they love the heat as much as we chileheads. What other pest could live and thrive amongst these amazing chiles? Few, if any. So they are a kindred spirit, in a way. There is a part of me that, if given the resources, might build a playground for these beasts of the garden. A place where they can grow and thrive. But my love for chile peppers outweighs my admiration for these foul critters. Plus they would just screw up the garden in which they were supposed to thrive. They have no boundaries or morals and must be extinguished.
 
I guess the massacre must continue. But each one that is squashed to death there is a fond pity found in my heart. If there is a stink bug heaven, perhaps they will find their joy. Perhaps I am helping them along that path. Just not in my garden.
 
Neem oil to repel, fire from Bic lighter from spotted ones and the biggest dent is getting rid of eggs before they hatch and getting rid of overripe fruit. Hopefully there's some natural predators around. Sevin works too if ya can handle using chems. But ultimately any pesticide has to make contact of some type with the bugs..

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I tried Sevin dust once.  Went back a day later, and the bugs were still dusty, but didn't seem to mind it otherwise.  And then I couldn't harvest anything for several days.
 
Now, I just use a spray bottle to spray the brood of nymphs with soapy water.  Their lungs can't handle the suds, and they drown.  I only leave the soapy suds on the plant for a few minutes, then spray the suds off.
 
Some of them survive, but they always seem to come back to the nearly the same place.  So I know were to look for the survivors.
 
Hmmm, I may be able to use powders. Maybe. But I cannot use oils or dishsoap. They would most likely kill the fish. I wonder about Neem Oil though?
 
Being from Pennsylvania, I've had to deal with them since just about Day One and have never found a pesticide that will kill them. I've sprayed and dusted and come back later to find them acting like nothing ever hit them. Other than catching them and drowning them in a mixture of rubbing alcohol, dish detergent & water, I've not found anything else that will kill them, other than squashing them.

Unfortunately, the next demon you'll have to battle is the Spotted Lanternfly, another import and even more destructive than the stink bug. It's in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, so far. It's moving west and south, and is one county away from me, so I'll see it next year. Get ready.
 
nmlarson said:
Being from Pennsylvania, I've had to deal with them since just about Day One and have never found a pesticide that will kill them. I've sprayed and dusted and come back later to find them acting like nothing ever hit them. Other than catching them and drowning them in a mixture of rubbing alcohol, dish detergent & water, I've not found anything else that will kill them, other than squashing them.

Unfortunately, the next demon you'll have to battle is the Spotted Lanternfly, another import and even more destructive than the stink bug. It's in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, so far. It's moving west and south, and is one county away from me, so I'll see it next year. Get ready.
Click to expand...
I notice a lot of people talking about them now,even in Europe,but like you,I've been dealing with them for 10 years.

Had my first encounter with the SLF's this fall in Potter County. Two individuals that came via a friends vehicle from the Harrisburgh area. Both were properly smashed and torched.

Another one that is crushing white pine and hemlock is the Hemlock wooly adelgid. I've seen acres upon acres of dead trees in the northern tier.
 
nmlarson said:
Being from Pennsylvania, I've had to deal with them since just about Day One and have never found a pesticide that will kill them. I've sprayed and dusted and come back later to find them acting like nothing ever hit them. Other than catching them and drowning them in a mixture of rubbing alcohol, dish detergent & water, I've not found anything else that will kill them, other than squashing them.

Unfortunately, the next demon you'll have to battle is the Spotted Lanternfly, another import and even more destructive than the stink bug. It's in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, so far. It's moving west and south, and is one county away from me, so I'll see it next year. Get ready.
Click to expand...
 

Wow, I've been reading about that piece of crap bug. It's hard to believe that we've made it all these years without it being shipped over from China and India. As long as it lays eggs and hatches as larvae I'm hoping the lady bugs will eat it. I get about 3000 a month. And they keep the garden pretty clean of pests. But that bug looks like it could devastate some agriculture farms for sure.
 
Pr0digal_son said:
I notice a lot of people talking about them now,even in Europe,but like you,I've been dealing with them for 10 years.

Had my first encounter with the SLF's this fall in Potter County. Two individuals that came via a friends vehicle from the Harrisburgh area. Both were properly smashed and torched.

Another one that is crushing white pine and hemlock is the Hemlock wooly adelgid. I've seen acres upon acres of dead trees in the northern tier.
Click to expand...
 
Wow!  Even the Department of Agriculture doesn't have Potter County on their quarantine list.  Hopefully, there were only those two.
 
I hadn't heard anything about the wooly adelgid yet. 
 
The Department of Agriculture is saying the Spotted Lanternfly could decimate an $18B hardwood forestry industry, just in Pennsylvania alone.  It's hard to believe, but it's probably going to happen.  Not to mention the damage to grapes, apples and other produce.  There was a national drag racing event near Reading, PA a few weeks ago.  My husband came home saying there were so many bugs, they were literally bouncing off people's heads.  They were in their egg-laying phase at that point in time.  Imagine how many of them hitch-hiked a ride west on any one of those race car transporters.  The next race was in St. Louis, then Dallas, and Charlotte, next to Las Vegas and, finally, Pomona....wine country.  
 
Captain Caliente said:
 
Wow, I've been reading about that piece of crap bug. It's hard to believe that we've made it all these years without it being shipped over from China and India. As long as it lays eggs and hatches as larvae I'm hoping the lady bugs will eat it. I get about 3000 a month. And they keep the garden pretty clean of pests. But that bug looks like it could devastate some agriculture farms for sure.
Click to expand...
 
Good luck with that!  The eggs are encased in a woody-like paste, covered with a waxy substance.  However, and this is really sort of weird, stink bugs have actually been observed feeding on the SLF larvae here in PA!  Unfortunately, I don't believe there are nearly enough stink bugs here to take care of the 30 to 60 egg masses each of these bugs will lay.  Imagine seeing this outside your back door!
 
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Pr0digal_son said:
I notice a lot of people talking about them now,even in Europe,but like you,I've been dealing with them for 10 years.

Had my first encounter with the SLF's this fall in Potter County. Two individuals that came via a friends vehicle from the Harrisburgh area. Both were properly smashed and torched.

Another one that is crushing white pine and hemlock is the Hemlock wooly adelgid. I've seen acres upon acres of dead trees in the northern tier.
Click to expand...
 

The winter freeze doesn't halt their progress at all?
I hadn't heard about these bugs until now. That is one is a real hazard.
 
If you're referring to the Spotted Lanternfly, they lay their eggs prior to winter, and hatch the next spring.  Stink bugs just come into your house and spend the winter dive bombing your lamps..   :banghead:
 
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