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Old 11-24-2013, 03:19 PM   #1
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Invasion of the Stink Bug.

First I am not sure where to post this so I decided to try here as we will be winterizing tomorrow.

A couple of weeks back we were camping at Lums Pond in DE. The weather was nice but unfortuantely the stink bugs came out in droves. I didn't give much thought to them as it did not look like they were getting into the AS. Boy was I ever wrong.

This weekend we were campingt Assateaque National Park and due to the cold weather needed to use both the heat pump and the furnace. When the HP was turned on the stink bugs started to drop from the vent in the ceiling and started to crawl out from other spots. So today I went looking for them. I found most of them under the seats and some even huddle together between the seats and the walls. I have not taken off the cover to the AC.HP vent because I am not sure how to do it but i suspect more are hiding up there.

Anyway to make a long stroy short I think I got most if not all but was wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem and if so how did you treat them.

Thanks

John
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Old 11-24-2013, 03:59 PM   #2
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Aaah, yes....stink bugs.

They seem to love and be drawn to that shiny aluminum. We have had several serious invasions, and there seems to be no stopping them. The first was at Gettysburg NP. They were everywhere, and all over the outside of the Interstate.

We have found them in every space and crevice imaginable, inside and out. We try to keep the doors closed against them, and still they find their way in.

Several have wintered over in the frigid midwest temps, then crawled out when we got to warmer climates in late January.

The good thing about them is that they don't bite.


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Old 11-24-2013, 06:01 PM   #3
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WE have them all over, both the cabin and the AS. The only way to "control" them we have found is to catch them in a large empty plastic peanut butter jar with about 1/2 inch of Dawn in the bottom, which seems to kill them quickly. They fall into the jar with little resistance. When we have a few hundred in the jar, we either empty it in a toilet or just throw it away and start again.
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Old 11-24-2013, 06:19 PM   #4
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Same problem here, stink bugs (Virginia and NC). My HVAC stopped working and I was advised via AS forum to change my Start Capacitor and PTCR, which I did, and all is back to normal--thanks to those that brought it to my attention. However....while cleaning the cobwebs out of my roof unit, I blew about approx 100 stinkbugs out from under the cover. The PTCR naturally was charred when I took it out. I don't know, but, could it have been shorted by a stinker crawling by. If that is what did it, I hope it fried his back side. Others have posted that dog collars help to ward off insects---stink bugs uncertain.
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Old 11-24-2013, 06:20 PM   #5
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We got them in the fall of 2012 in Md, never heard of them before. Didn't think too much about them at the time until they were still showing up in May 2013. They were not nearly as bad this year. One thing you might want to check is your leveling blocks, they love to hide there and then you end up taking them with you. We learned that lesson last year and hosed them all out before we left Md this year. Still have the occasional bastard appear now and then.
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Old 11-24-2013, 06:29 PM   #6
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About 4 years ago we got hit with the SB's real bad. I was vacuuming them up in the Airstream. They were in every cabinet, in the folds of the curtains and pretty much under and in-between just about everything. Since then not so bad and easily managed but that year they were everywhere. I did see a trap rigged for them by taking a 2L plastic soda bottle, cut in half and put a cheap battery hockey puck light in the bottom. You invert the bottle top into the bottom so it acts as a funnel. The light will generate enough warmth to attract them into the funnel and down into the base where they can't get out. I didn't see this that first year and haven't had enough of an issue with them since to try it out so I can't speak to it's working or not. So, if you choose to try it you're on your own.
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Old 11-24-2013, 06:37 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by doug&maggie View Post
The good thing about them is that they don't bite.

Maggie
Do they stink?

I have a thing about bugs, must be a phobia. Don't know why as I grew up in Texas and we had them all. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why.

We don't have any bugs here at 4,000' on the Eastern slope of the Cascades. Well, almost no bugs. One of the best things about living here. We're heading out for a several month trip to the Southwest and I told my wife that we need to get ready for bugs. Fortunately she grew up in the desert and doesn't mind them at all. So she is Lead Exterminator (unfortunately with no-one to lead).

You empty the jar after there are *hundreds* in there ??!!

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Old 11-24-2013, 06:51 PM   #8
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stink bug

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Originally Posted by Birdmaestro View Post
Do they stink?

I have a thing about bugs, must be a phobia. Don't know why as I grew up in Texas and we had them all. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why.

We don't have any bugs here at 4,000' on the Eastern slope of the Cascades. Well, almost no bugs. One of the best things about living here. We're heading out for a several month trip to the Southwest and I told my wife that we need to get ready for bugs. Fortunately she grew up in the desert and doesn't mind them at all. So she is Lead Exterminator (unfortunately with no-one to lead).

You empty the jar after there are *hundreds* in there ??!!

Poppy
If you want to know if they stink just kill one with your hands if you find one and then let me know what you think. Imported invasive species that destroys gardens so if you get them try your best not to carry them all around the country that will be one way they spread In 2010 the worst year since they were brought here from asia in 1993 they did over 37 million dollars of damage to fruit trees, corn and soybeans so PLEASE try to control infestation in your campers. They are a real threat to farmers.
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Old 11-24-2013, 07:29 PM   #9
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I just read that they have recently begun showing up in Oregon as an invasive species. Too cold for them here I guess as they're showing up on the other, wetter and warmer, side of the Cascades.

There won't be any in our trailer when we get home. I'll shrink wrap the sucker and fumigate it if we get an infestation.

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Old 11-24-2013, 09:14 PM   #10
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This fall I removed and resealed both of the fantastic fans on my Safari. I was amazed at the hundreds of stink bugs that tried to get in while I had the fans off. I finally built a temporary cover to keep them from going through the openings while I cleaned the caulk off of the fans and roof. Since then I have removed many stink bugs that got in and hid.
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Old 11-24-2013, 10:28 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Birdmaestro View Post
I'll shrink wrap the sucker and fumigate it if we get an infestation.

Poppy
maybe you can use stink wrap? ;-)

i found a hitch hiker on my truck last spring and thanks to the folks here i knew to use a tissue to crush it
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Old 11-25-2013, 06:59 AM   #12
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I did some more reading on the SB. They are an invasive species from the far east that first showed up in Pennsylvania and have since spread throughout our country. They have done significant damage to the apple crop in PA.

They are tough to get rid of as not all pest sprays work on them. It appears the most effective method to capturing them is a trap with light or some type of detergent with water in a bucket. There are a lot of sights on the web with ways to catch them.

They do like warm spots so that is why they come into the house. When I was looking for them in the AS I found about 15 all huddle together against the cushion and the Alluminum; others were just scattered through out.
I am just glad they don't bite.
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Old 11-25-2013, 07:14 AM   #13
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We have had stink bugs in the south for as long as I can remember, and I always assumed they are native. They have been notorious for damaging the pecan crop and laying their eggs in the nuts. It gives the nut a bitter taste.

I do not know much about the invasive species of SB, only that they try to get inside when the weather cools more aggressively than the natives. I doubt trapping them is going to remove them from our environment. There are just to many of them.
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Old 11-25-2013, 07:51 AM   #14
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This year was the first time I've seen stink bugs here in SW Washington. On the warm days this fall as we worked on the trailer, we were constantly chasing away stink bugs! I still see an ocasional one or two. I hope not to many of them got in behind the insulation because that is what we were doing at that time.
Now who is the person that brought them out here? LOL
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Old 11-25-2013, 08:15 AM   #15
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People, do not waist your time with brand-name traps you can purchase at Lowe's. I did and they worked great....not a one went into the trap; they all went to my AS--I got my money back because Lowe's has a website full of comments about how ineffective they are. When I first saw the critter, I thought it was cute because of the prehistoric look--boy was I surprised. Someone come up with a remedy and make a fortune.
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Old 11-25-2013, 08:53 AM   #16
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oh fun...I live in Alabama...not sure if they are terrible here...I saw one on the awning rail while washing last week...have not seen any otherwise so far...need to soon get to prepping the trailer against ants, bugs, mice, etc...darn critters, stay outa my shiny man can
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Old 11-25-2013, 09:56 AM   #17
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Stink bug

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Originally Posted by A W Warn View Post
We have had stink bugs in the south for as long as I can remember, and I always assumed they are native. They have been notorious for damaging the pecan crop and laying their eggs in the nuts. It gives the nut a bitter taste.

I do not know much about the invasive species of SB, only that they try to get inside when the weather cools more aggressively than the natives. I doubt trapping them is going to remove them from our environment. There are just to many of them.
That was probably a boll weviel bug they came in from mexico years ago stink bugs were only first discovered in the US back in the early 90's. Both bugs look alike.
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Old 11-25-2013, 10:10 AM   #18
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Stink bugs have been in the South as long as I can remember. I started remembering in the 50's. Boll weevils did not stink when you sat on one. Or one happened to crawl on your head and you swatted it.
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Old 11-25-2013, 10:34 AM   #19
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Stink bugs have been around forever, the invaders are simply a new flavor of them.

On a 1978 date at a scenic reservoir my girlfriend and I found a patch of huge ripe blackberries. Let's mention the stink bug will try to hide by staying out of sight, dancing around to stay hidden. So, eating blackberries is a good way to ingest a nice crunchy stink bug.

They breed faster and live longer then the normal flavors, errr, varieties of the mid-atlantic states...
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Old 05-15-2014, 02:44 PM   #20
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Just reading this on stink bugs from Virginia Tech on the best and cheapest way to kill stink bugs.
A Virginia Tech team has proven that homemade, inexpensive stink bug traps crafted from simple household items outshine pricier models designed to kill the invasive, annoying bugs, according to a news release from the university.
1. A large pan (an aluminum foil one if you want to toss it, because honestly, who wants to reuse a pan that's had bugs floating in it?).
2. Water and dish soap
3. A light to attract the bugs
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