The stink bugs are coming! The stink bugs are coming! (Washington: credit, buy)

[mpascal]

Haven't been bitten by one, but we still have them. Not as many as we did previously but like an earlier post, I'd say 1-2 a day.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by mpascal

Haven't been bitten by one, but we still have them. Not as many as we did previously but like an earlier post, I'd say 1-2 a day.

Stink bugs don't bite. They don't damage your house, either.

[Alltheusernamesaretaken]

Actually, they do bite if handled roughly, and it is supposed to just feel like a little pinch.

[SmartMoney]

Oh, they bite. Stinkbugs were a huge newstory this past fall in the DC area. I'll see if I can find the footage where this researcher put his arm in an enclosed glass box and came out with welts after being bit by them. Some of the bites you could see two little holes where the pinchers when thru the skin. The mid-Atlantic is being bombarded by them, each year getting worse. It's thought they are responsible for a very large percentage of lost crops (Rutgers reported 70% in some areas).

I don't think 1 or 2 every day or every other day is an infestation......but I do believe that qualifies as a nuisance. They're getting in from somewhere, I don't have any plants, so breeding is not a worry......but sorry, taking the poor dears outside to set them free is out of the question. They'll get a slow tortuous death in soapy water or a swim in the swirling chlorox bowl.

[Caladium]

Yes, please do post this study. I tried to google it, but could not find a study showing that stink bugs bite. I did find a study that showed a similar looking critter called an Assassin Bug bites if you harrass it enough times (and after it has tried its frist defense of releasing odor).

Assassin bugs mostly live in Central and South America, Mexico, and the American southwest. Although Virginia is not their favorite habitat, they have been found here. There are been reports of these insects in Charlottesville and in Chespeake, VA.

These insects bite in self defense, so it's not likely you're going to be bitten. They're not like mosquitos, who feed on human blood.

[SmartMoney]

I can't find the newscast I was looking for, but I've noticed a common thread with the reports I have read.......the county and government agencies say they don't bite and are of minimal danger to crops.......yet every ehow and instruction home and garden site, say they do great damage and do bite......So that made me think, if they do bite, that possibly puts them on par with mesquitos, and possibly, disease carriers. Hmm, a pest that doesn't respond to any known chemicals. Sure sounds like an expensive problem for some already broke counties. But that's just me, the skeptic. My problems are no where near this family's:

WUSA9.com | Washington, DC | Video

But from ehow:

[LEFT]Stink bugs come by their name honestly. They use a chemical defense to protect themselves from would--be predators. The aroma and subsequent flavor keeps them from being a dietary staple for several types of birds and reptiles. While stink bugs don't aggressively confront people, they are unappealing, destructive to gardens and they do bite. The chemical they emit is both noxious and toxic if ingested, which can be a particular concern to people with small children and pets which might, unwittingly, eat the bugs. If stink bugs have found their way to your world, the best thing you can do is get rid of them before you have a full fledged infestation on your hands. The guide below offers concrete suggestions you can employ to prevent things from escalating to that level.




Read more: How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs That Are Fatal to Pets | eHow.com How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs That Are Fatal to Pets | eHow.com

I think we are far from done tangling with this bug.[/LEFT]

[SmartMoney]

What are Stink Bugs?

Entomology (Study of Bugs): Bug Bite, stink bug, stinkbugs

LOL, I'm still looking, but I can find far many more reports on other forums that report bites and sites on how to treat the bites. But the most telling in my search for this is the Department of Agriculture stating just not enough is known about this bug, let alone how to control it. Meanwhile, I'm content to being one of the lone rangers believing they bite, as I really do believe it's just a matter of time before they are saying, "formerly reported not to bite."

But Kevin Hackett, national program leader for invasive insects for the Agriculture Department's research arm, said no immediate solution was in sight. "We need to do considerable more research to solve the problem," he said. "We don't even have a way to monitor the pests. I'm confident that we have excellent researchers. I'm not confident we're going to find a solution immediately."

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/move-over-bedbugs-stink-bugs-have-landed-55490?cp

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by SmartMoney

What are Stink Bugs?

Entomology (Study of Bugs): Bug Bite, stink bug, stinkbugs

These are two interesting sites. I'd be interested to see what else you come up with. I'm not an entymologist, so I'm open to the possibility that stink bugs bite, but these sites didn't provide any evidence of that.

The first site is a brief article about stink bugs by wisegeeks that does not mention bites. The only mention of bites is in a lengthy section for "comment on this article." There are 175 comments. Of them, Poster #140 says "I know they don't bite". Poster #130 says "They can't bite, lacking mouth parts." Poster #76 says "They don't bite and are very slow moving." Poster #55, whose name is, Anon76234 (for what that might be worth) is the only one who seems to think they bite. He says "stink bugs will bite and they are dangerous to asthmatics." Interesting, but an opinion from an anonymous poster on an internet forum is not evidence that will stand up in court. The second link seems even less reliable, IMO. Someone says he got an insect bite and at the time smelled something that smelled like a stink bug. So, he got this reply "I can only guess but the stinkbug smell means it could have been one of the stinkbugs."

BTW, even though the first link didn't say much about stink bug bites, it did have some good advice about getting rid of them. Anyone who is still seeing these insects and is sick of them might want to look through it.

Originally Posted by SmartMoney

Meanwhile, I'm content to being one of the lone rangers believing they bite, as I really do believe it's just a matter of time before they are saying, "formerly reported not to bite."

Hey, who knows--someday you may get the last laugh at the rest of us non-believers. Until proven otherwise, though, I think I'll place the fear of a stink bug bite waaaaaay down on the list. I'd be more worried that aliens are hiding in my broccoli.

[IlonaG]

Originally Posted by normie

Those are the ones. They're actually a beneficial insect in your garden. The problem is they want to get inside your house when the weather turns cold. They don't bite or harm anything, but if you step on them they stink. So, the thing to do is catch them and set them free outside.

I thought they were destructive. Don't they eat fruits and vegetables causing them to die?

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by IlonaG

I thought they were destructive. Don't they eat fruits and vegetables causing them to die?

Looks like this was already answered:

Originally Posted by normie

I'd heard they aren't the ones who eat the plants, they eat the bugs who do the damage. But, that's just something I heard so I could be wrong. When I get a moment later on I'll try to look it up.

Originally Posted by Alltheusernamesaretaken

We have tons of them and I have been doing lots of research on them as a result. For one, they do eat Japanese beetles but that's as far as their "benefits" go in the garden (or anywhere else, for that matter.) They damage the hell out of crops, including my beloved tomatoes!

Don't crush them, inside or out, b/c the scent just attract MORE of them. Inside, fill a jar w/ a few inches of water, squirt some dish soap in there, and hold it under them. They fall inside (I have no idea why they do this when you're just holding the jar beneath them) and drown. Put a lid on the jar to keep the smell from emitting.

Also, look for their eggs (Google-image stinkbug eggs) beneath low-growing vegetation and destroy.