The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Is Invading American Homes, And It’s More Dangerous Than You Think

Every fall, brown marmorated stink bugs move into homes across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and 44 other states. In one Maryland house, a researcher collected 26,205 of them in a single winter. What did the science find when someone finally counted? This invasive stink bug from Asia is harmless inside your house, but it cost Mid Atlantic apple growers about $37 million in one season. Now a tiny samurai wasp that nobody released is hunting its eggs. We cover the first identification in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the 181-day home study, the orchard damage, the wasp that arrived on its own, and what extension experts actually recommend to keep stink bugs out of your house this fall. Have stink bugs on your windows right now? Tell me your state, the month and roughly how many you see. Sources: Inkley, D. B. (2012). Characteristics of home invasion by the brown marmorated stink bug. Journal of Entomological Science 47(2): 125–131. https://bioone.org/journals/journal-o... Cornell University, Brown marmorated stink bugs infesting homes in Allentown, Pa., Cornell entomologist confirms (2001). https://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/... National Pesticide Information Center, Stink bugs. https://www.npic.orst.edu/pest/stinkb... Washington State University, Brown marmorated stink bug fact sheet. https://pestsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/fact... Kovacs et al. (2010). Cost of potential emerald ash borer damage in U.S. communities, 2009–2019. Ecological Economics, USDA Forest Service. https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesear...