From University of Maryland Extension Service:
Last week I [Stanton Gill] had 6 different frustrated gardeners send or bring pictures to me of their tomatoes, peppers and sweet corn covered with nymphs and adults of brown marmorated stink bugs. Each person was so frustrated by this bug they were ready to give up on gardening. One gardener said they went out to their garden with a wet/dry vac and vacuumed off the insects, and then dumped the canister contents down the toilet. Actually this method is not a bad idea and some innovative person could develop a small garden vacuum that gardeners could easily handle in gardens which is lightweight and powerful enough. In entomology we have large bug vacs we use in the field to collect insects, but it would be slightly unwieldy around a vegetable garden. So, innovative thinkers, give me a call and let’s talk about a cool, portable BMSB vac.
Adult stink bugs are very active and starting to show up in and around houses at this point in the summer. The best thing you can do is vacuum them up inside. This fall, Zodiac Company is supposed to have an EPA label (sometime early this fall) for an ester form of a pyrethroid that will have a label for homeowners to use inside houses for BMSB and bedbugs. Keep in mind, even though this will kill the bugs you will still have to sweep or vacuum them up after they are dead. Why not just use a vac and vacuum them up and skip the insecticide application? Still, people seem to like to spray bugs and I am sure this product will sell well once in the market- place.
BMSB Trials
We have set up BMSB traps at several greenhouse and nursery facilities. At each of these operations we are monitoring BMSB in high tunnels or greenhouses compared to adjacent outdoor growing areas. We will be collecting data through the fall.
BMSB: What are they feeding on?
Kim, a plant and cut flower grower from Carroll County, reported that BMSB were feeding heavily on crape myrtle trees this year. The plants that were most heavily infested were reported to be aborting blooms. The BMSB was also feeding on the seed pods. We will try to visit this site to confirm this damage. At CMREC we have observed BMSB feeding on Hibiscus moscheutos and other species of hibiscus. They tend to cluster on the foliage but are also found feeding on the stems. There is damage on the foliage, but it is hard to discern this damage from leafspot diseases that show up on the foliage in August.
We will be setting up monitoring stations at several additional operations over the next two weeks. We would like to extend a special thanks to the Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association for their financial support for this project.
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