It’s a stinky situation.
If you have recently discovered a strange flat arrowhead-shaped bug in your house, you’re not alone. These uninvited guests are an invasive species popping up in and around homes across the province.
They’re called the brown marmorated stink bug and the B.C. government has just issued a pest warning and declared them a public nuisance.
The bugs are native to Asia though have been in North America since 2001. Feeding on 100 different plant species, this particular stink bug has been wreaking havoc on agricultural industries in the U.S. It was estimated that the bugs caused $37 million worth of damage to the mid-Atlantic States’ apple industry back in 2010.
How to identify the bugs
Brown marmorated stink bugs were first detected in low numbers in B.C. in 2015, in urban areas the bug population was mostly contained to the Fraser Valley, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the Okanagan with the largest number present in downtown Kelowna.
Now, as the problem grows, the B.C. government wants people to send pictures of sightings or even samples to the Ministry of Agriculture offices. There are three other species of stink bugs that may be confused for our new invasive friends but the brown marmorated can be identified by the orange markings on either side of its spine all the way down its back.
There are also images on the B.C. government website to help distinguish between bugs.
How to get rid of the bugs in your home
The stink bugs are attracted to fruit trees and experts are predicting that we may start to see larger numbers of them in our homes as they look for warm places to hide in winter. The B.C. government has put together a pamphlet on how to get rid of the bugs once they are in your house and recommends sealing off access points to prevent them from entering. They do not recommend the use of insecticides in the home as a method of control.
They do recommend vacuuming up the bugs with a nylon stocking in the hose of the vacuum to catch the bug and then tying the nylon with the bug inside and drowning it in soapy water. A loose stink bug in your vacuum can leave a very strong smell.
Alternatively, the bugs can be caught with homemade traps such as a pan of soapy water with a desk lamp above or a 2-litre pop bottle and a battery-powered light inside.
When crushed or threatened the bugs will release an unpleasant odour but they don’t bite people.
