If you are the proud caretaker of a home garden, then there are a number of pests that you’ll want to watch out for. One of the more invasive pests that have grown into a real threat over the past few years is the stink bug; more specifically, the brown marmorated stink bug.
What Is a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug?
The brown marmorated stink bug is the most common stink bug found in the New England area. If you’re unfamiliar with stink bugs, they are invasive pests that have stink glands that produce a foul odor whenever they are threatened. The brown marmorated stink bug is unique in the fact that it originated from East Asia.
The reason the brown marmorated stink bug has become such a problem is due to its lack of natural predators. The abundance of brown marmorated stink bugs has led to birds and wasps feeding on them, but their population has already exploded. They are destructive because they feed on fruits, vegetables, and other plants, which means that if they invade your property, they could cause severe damage to your garden.
You can identify a brown marmorated stink bug by their brown color and black and white markings. They are roughly 3/5 inches long and about just as wide. Of course, you should also be able to recognize them by their stench around your garden area as well as by any damage caused to your fruits and vegetables.
How to Prevent Stink Bugs
Because stink bugs can completely destroy the beautiful home garden that you’ve spent so long tending to, it’s important that you take preventative measures. The following are a few tips on how to prevent stink bugs from infesting your property and ruining your garden:
- Turn off lights at night – Stink bugs are attracted to light. Because of this, you should consider turning off your home’s exterior lights. Although you might not want to turn all of your exterior lights off for safety reasons, you should try to turn off your backyard lights if possible.
- Eliminate sources of moisture – Stink bugs do look for water sources like any other type of pest, which means that you should make sure that there aren’t any water leaks or standing water around your property.
- Eliminate food sources – The vegetables and fruits in your garden aren’t the only sources of food that will attract stink bugs. They will come into your home, especially during the winter season, if they sense that there’s food around. Make sure that you keep your home clean, that you put food away, and that your trash is kept sealed—especially the trash you keep outside.
- Use physical barriers – You might want to think about putting up some physical barriers around your garden to help keep stink bugs out. A greenhouse would be the most effective solution, but if that’s not a possibility for you, then some kind of netting should be helpful.
- Encourage the presence of birds – Because birds will feed on stink bugs, encouraging their presence can help discourage stink bugs from invading your property. There are many ways that you can encourage the presence of birds around your home. For example, you can install birdhouses on some of your property’s trees or even put up a few bird feeders. Certain water features can help to attract birds as well. Once birds have been attracted to your property, odds are they will keep coming back. Not only will they discourage stink bugs from trying to get into your garden, they can help get rid of any stink bugs that try to do so despite their presence.
- Seal access points – Because stink bugs can get into your home, especially if you already have a stink bug problem in your garden, you should make sure to take steps to prevent stink bugs from being able to get inside. You’ll want to carefully inspect your property for any openings or exposed areas, such as through cracks or holes, in the foundation, doors, and windows of your home. A pest management professional will be able to do a thorough inspection of your house in order to identify potential entry points and to seal them.
How We Can Keep Stink Bugs Out of Your House
Here at Bain Pest Control, our pest management professionals have the training and experience needed to properly identify and eliminate your stink bug problem. In fact, we are particularly well suited for the job since we have been dealing with the brown marmorated stink bug for over a decade, back to when it was first introduced to the New England area.
If you think that you might have a stink bug problem, we will send one of our professionals out to your property at your earliest convenience. There, we will do a thorough inspection to determine the extent of your stink bug problem. We offer different treatment plans depending on how severe your stink bug problem might be. Once we treat your property, we will continue to monitor the situation to make sure the stink bugs have been completely eliminated. We will also provide professional advice on how to prevent potential future stink bug problems.
Although you can contact us for a consultation and have your stink bug problem treated, we also recommend our Home Protection Plan, whether you have a pest problem or not. Our Home Protection Plan covers almost all common pests that might attack your home, including stink bugs. The Home Protection Plan consists of three inspections a year as well as any treatments if required.
For more information on how to keep stink bugs out of your house or to schedule an inspection today, be sure to contact us at Bain Pest Control.