Watch this bug

This picture of BMSB was taken in Dallas
County in 2017 by Annika Linkqvist and
posted on iNaturalist. Note the white bands on
the antennae.

Brown marmorated stink bug has been causing a stink, literally, in many parts of the country for the past 15 years or so. It feeds on important crops, and finishes up its dirty work by invading homes in the fall.  It's the complete pest. Bad for farmers and homeowners alike.

Now the BMSB may be making a new home in Texas. According to EDDMaps distribution records, this stink bug has now been confirmed in four Texas counties. Two sightings were recorded last summer in Dallas County by the same observer, and one in Collin County in 2015.  It has also been seen in Harris and Ft. Bend counties in the Houston area.  To our knowledge there have been no reports of buildings being invaded or plant damage.

I live in Collin County and have yet to see a BMSB; but that doesn't mean they're not here, slowly reproducing and hiding out until they make their grand entrance. When they do, chances are that a pest control company will be the first to know.

I first posted about this pest 7 years ago, before any sightings in the Houston or Dallas area. Given these recent reports, I think its time to renew the call to vigilance.

Identification

So how do you identify BMSB? First, it is a stink bug (family Pentatomidae), all of which have flattened, shield-like bodies with a triangular plate in the middle separating the bases of the two wings. The BMSB is brown, about 17 mm-long (2/3 inch), and may produce a musty scent when disturbed. Several other stinkbugs look similar to BMSB. Identify by looking for three characters: First is the white band at the joint between the 3rd and 4th (last) antennal segments (see image).  Second is the shoulders: the BMSB also has rounded shoulder angles (corners of the pronotum at the widest part of the body) compared to other stink bugs with pointed shoulder angles or jagged teeth above the shoulder. Last, there are four creamy spots on the pronotum (shield) just behind the head and on the top of the scutellum (triangular shaped plate between the bases of the wings).

The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys, right) can be distinguished from the brown (Euschistus servus, left) and bark (Brochymena quadripustulata, center) stink bugs by markings and the white bands at the joints of the antennae.  (Note: These images not necessarily to scale.  The two left photos were taken by Mike Quinn, TexasEnto.net; and the right image by Melinda Fawver.  Thanks for permission to use.)

What to do

If you think you've run into an infestation of brown marmorated stink bugs, let me or one of our extension entomologists from around the state know.  To confirm, we will need specimens or good quality digital images.  If you choose to send a specimen, please follow the directions on this page, and include a completed insect ID form with accurate information about date and location where the specimen was collected.

We are especially interested if the bugs are damaging fruit (fruit, corn, grapes, tomatoes, beans) or coming to lights and invading homes in large numbers. If you have a good picture and want to report an infestation, you can also report to our national EDDMaps database at http://www.eddmaps.org/bmsb/report/.

This insect has the potential to become a major headache for households and businesses, as well as farmers. It reminds me of my latest proverb: "If you crave job security in your career, go into highway construction or pest control." Just as there will always be highways being repaired, there will always be new pests to battle. Brown marmorated stink bug is a good example.

Pyrethroid label requirements tweaked again

Last year I posted a story about the new pyrethroid insecticide label requirements being sent to pesticide manufacturers by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The requirements were designed in 2009 to reduce the risk of drift (wind carried contamination) and runoff (stormwater-carried contamination) of these commonly used insecticides. Since last spring, when pesticide manufacturers were officially informed of the new standards, the EPA has continued to dialog with both regulators and the pest control industry.  The results of this dialog are now out, and the final product is a big improvement, in my opinion.

The new EPA label requirements will
continue to allow pyrethroid applications
to eaves and protected sites around homes
where mosquitoes and other pests
may be resting.

At issue were applications needed to control certain overwintering insects like brown marmorated stink bug and kudzu bug, both of which aggregate on the sides and eaves of structures prior to entering the home or other building.  Under the 2009 rules, outdoor applications to the sides of structures were limited to crack and crevice applications or building foundations up to a height of three feet only.  In addition, all outdoor applications to impervious surfaces such as sidewalks, driveways, patios, porches and structural surfaces (such as windows, doors, and eaves) were to be limited to spot and crack-and-crevice applications, only.

After consultation with the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials (ASPCRO) and the State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (an EPA advisory group also comprised of regulatory officials), the EPA agreed to make further changes to the original label requirements to allow for better control of overwintering insects.

While restrictions on insecticide applications to impervious surfaces and prior to expected rainfall have not changed, there are some big changes on applications to structures, as published in a January 10 letter to pesticide manufacturers.  The three changes are summarized as follows:

• Now applications of pyrethroids may be made to the exterior of buildings where the treated surfaces are underneath eaves, soffits, windows or doors that are protected by coverings, overhangs, awnings or other structures that protect the residues from rainfall;
• application bands up to one inch-wide may be applied to cracks or other potential pest entry points;
• and applications may be made using a coarse, low-pressure spray to portions of surfaces that are directly above bare soil, lawn, mulch or other vegetation.

The purpose of these requirements is to prevent pyrethroid pesticides from entering storm water and getting into streams, something that is most likely when pyrethroid sprays land on impervious surfaces like asphalt or concrete.

In addition to giving back to PMPs the ability to use pyrethroids against overwintering pests these new regulations should help applicators control nuisance and public health mosquitoes that frequently rest on the sides of buildings and around doorways.  This was, in my view, a potentially serious public health issue with the 2009 rules.

So what will be the big change to the way your company applies pyrethroids after the dust is all settled? The new labels will prohibit power spraying driveways and over sidewalks, garage doors and any vertical building surfaces over pavement. Assuming the manufacturers follow these guidelines closely, labels should allow low-pressure sprays to the sides of structures over vegetation or soil and in sites protected from the rain, in addition to cracks and crevices.

Congratulations to the EPA and to those regulators and NPMA experts who took the time to look for ways to keep the pyrethroid label requirements reasonable while continuing to protect the environment. This is one of those examples of how the system sometimes works in everyone's favor--except, in this case, the pests'. 

Stink bug sighting

Last July I wrote about the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB).  This insect is a new invasive pest from Asian and has been spreading pretty rapidly across the eastern states.  Last month I got a report from John Rourk, ACE with Certified Termite and Pest Control in Corpus Christi, about what may be the first confirmed report of this pest in Texas.

Fall aggregation of BMSB and other stink bugs under light outside a home.
Photo by Leske, 2010.  (not from Texas)

According to Rourk, he received a call from a resident about a large number of bugs in their travel trailer after a recent visit to Pennsylvania. When he got to the residence he saw two stink bugs flying from the RV flying towards the residence. He also found and collected three specimens from the RV and was told by the owner that they had already killed “more than we can count.” He he was unable to find any more evidence of activity or live specimens in the RV or on the premises.

Rourk knew what he was doing when he collected specimens. The only way to confirm an unusual or exotic pest is to collect it. A photograph is better than nothing but is still not as good as a specimen (dead or alive). According to Dr. Roy Parker, Extension entomologist at the Texas AgriLife Center at Corpus Christi, the identity of Rourk's specimens has been confirmed by the Texas A&M University entomology museum, and has been reported to USDA.

In a 2010 report by USDA's Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory (APHIS/PPQ), BMSB is projected to be agriculturally important in east Texas and the panhandle regions. According to the report, once BMSB invades a new area it is very difficult to control because of its high mobility and large number of host plants.

Called by some the "Interstate bug" because of its habit of hitching rides on trucks, RVs and vans, the BMSB will often be found clustered in engine compartments or other warm protected areas of vehicles.  Besides being an agricultural pest, once it becomes established it also becomes a household pest as a fall invader (see picture).

Just because the BMSB was found in an RV in Texas does not mean it is likely to have become established here. Several hurdles have to be leaped before an invasive pest can establish a viable breeding population. Dispersing bugs may not be able to find one another for mating and reproduction in a new area.  There may not be a critical density of acceptable host plants at the point of introduction, and weather conditions must be favorable at time of import.  According to USDA, we still don't know the minimum population level needed for successful establishment of BMSB into a new area, although the insect has been successfully introduced to at least seventeen states. Since 2003, however, BMSB has been intercepted or trapped in at least seven states (Florida, Illinois, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Rhode Island, and South Carolina) where they do not appear to have established breeding populations.

Remember, as a PMP you are on the cutting edge of surveillance for new pests. Observations made by the pest control industry are, and will continue to be, an important part of urban entomology research and knowledge about insects.

Eyes open for brown marmorated stink bug

Closeup view of BMSB from the Penn State University.

By all accounts the brown marmorated stink bug smells bad.  On top of that, it's stuck with a tough name. But this new stink bug pest deserves it.

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys, is native to Asia and was first detected in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 1998. This pest is now well-established in the northeast and has been detected in more than 25 states, including Oregon.

Although most University types are concerned with the BMSB because of its potential impact on agricultural crops like fruit trees, sweet corn, tomatoes, soybeans and ornamentals, this pest has the potential to become another significant structural pest.

But don't start counting your increased revenue stream just yet.  The BMSB is not a satisfying, or easy, pest to control.  It's the same kind of seasonal invader of homes as the boxelder bug, paper wasps or the Asian multicolored lady beetle.  Like these pests, it's attracted to the outside of structures on warm fall days in search of protected overwintering sites. It readily enters buildings where it occasionally reappears in living areas during warmer, sunny periods throughout the winter. It again emerges in the spring. Like these pests, the solution may be more in the line of sealing and caulking the home and vacuuming up the bugs instead of being easily blocked by an insecticide application.

To date, BMSBs have been reported from approximately 33 states, but not from Texas.  This will likely change soon, as they are easily transported in cars, campers and RVs.

Here's where you can help.  If you think you run into an infestation of brown marmorated stink bugs, let me or one of our extension entomologists from around the state know.  You can send specimens or good quality digital images.  If you choose to send a specimen, please follow the directions on this page, and include a completed insect ID form with accurate information about date and location where the specimen was collected.

The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys, right) can be distinguished from the brown (Euschistus servus, left) and bark (Brochymena quadripustulata, center) stink bugs by markings and the white bands at the joints of the antennae.  (Note: These images not necessarily to scale.  The two left photos were taken by Mike Quinn, TexasEnto.net; and the right image by Melinda Fawver.  Thanks for permission to use.)

Identification
The BMSB has some similar relatives that are common in Texas.  The best identification mark is the white band at the joint between the 3rd and 4th (last) antennal segments (see image).  The BMSB also has rounded "shoulders" (corners of the pronotum), and four creamy spots on the pronotum (shield) just behind the head and on the top of the scutellum (triangular shaped plate between the bases of the wings).