Bug ID, unsettlingly large edition
January 13, 2019 12:05 PM Subscribe
I found this monster in the second floor bathroom. Should I be worried about more? How did something this big get into my house? D:
Best answer: Brown marmorated stink bug
posted by bitslayer at 12:09 PM on January 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by bitslayer at 12:09 PM on January 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Stink bug. They're all over the midwest.
posted by nantucket at 12:09 PM on January 13, 2019
posted by nantucket at 12:09 PM on January 13, 2019
Best answer: Shield bug/stink bug. Brown marmorated stink bug? Probably.
posted by FirstMateKate at 12:09 PM on January 13, 2019
posted by FirstMateKate at 12:09 PM on January 13, 2019
Best answer: If you are in Oregon, here is info. from Oregon State University.
posted by gudrun at 12:12 PM on January 13, 2019
posted by gudrun at 12:12 PM on January 13, 2019
Best answer: That's a stinkbug; they're an invasive pest and they're slowly spreading across the US. I believe they first ended up here in imported produce from Asia.
They showed up very abruptly in my area (mid-Atlantic US) a few years back and now we have them seasonally. They start off as very energetic and can fly—noisily—for short distances, and then as the temperature gets cooler they get more lethargic and easier to catch.
Obnoxious, but they don't bite or sting, and apparently there's a genetic component to whether you can even smell the "stink" (I can't). But the best disposal method IMO is to trap them with a glass and a piece of paper/cardboard and then flush 'em down the toilet, rather than using a flyswatter or stepping on them. Generally they are unable to get out of the toilet bowl once you toss them in there (unless you have a cat who likes to play "bug lifeguard"...).
Since they are invasive pests, I find nothing wrong with killing them, versus, say, spiders, where I think you are getting negative karmic points anytime you kill one.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:16 PM on January 13, 2019 [13 favorites]
They showed up very abruptly in my area (mid-Atlantic US) a few years back and now we have them seasonally. They start off as very energetic and can fly—noisily—for short distances, and then as the temperature gets cooler they get more lethargic and easier to catch.
Obnoxious, but they don't bite or sting, and apparently there's a genetic component to whether you can even smell the "stink" (I can't). But the best disposal method IMO is to trap them with a glass and a piece of paper/cardboard and then flush 'em down the toilet, rather than using a flyswatter or stepping on them. Generally they are unable to get out of the toilet bowl once you toss them in there (unless you have a cat who likes to play "bug lifeguard"...).
Since they are invasive pests, I find nothing wrong with killing them, versus, say, spiders, where I think you are getting negative karmic points anytime you kill one.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:16 PM on January 13, 2019 [13 favorites]
Here's a New Yorker article "When Twenty-Six Thousand Stinkbugs Invade Your Home"
Omnibus! podcast had episode about the marmorated stink bug.
posted by spork at 12:30 PM on January 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Omnibus! podcast had episode about the marmorated stink bug.
posted by spork at 12:30 PM on January 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
They seem to be annoying squeezey little stinkers. I have a new window in my new addition that must have a bit of caulking missing or something. This summer/fall, I was finding them inside the window but trapped by my screen. Removed the screens this winter and one got in and then somehow walked into the baffle of my insulated blinds! I could see ‘em silhouetted against the sun! It was annoying to get it out.
posted by amanda at 1:37 PM on January 13, 2019
posted by amanda at 1:37 PM on January 13, 2019
I assure you, you will have more. Many, many, many more. Little pests seem to be able to get through any tight space. We found them inside a tightly sealed Rubbermaid container we use for storing xmas decorations.
Kill 'em with impunity.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:17 PM on January 13, 2019
Kill 'em with impunity.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:17 PM on January 13, 2019
Ugh...I feel like that New Yorker article should come with a trigger warning.
Brown Marmorated Stinkbugs are an incredibly destructive pest when it comes to agriculture and having one in your home could lead to hundreds/thousands of others as the above New Yorker article goes into great detail about as they have a pheromone that attracts others.
Crushing the bug is what releases the "stink" so would definitely go the "trap and release" route.
You might consider reporting the siting in the effort to track the invasion and maybe help in the effort of combatting them
posted by brookeb at 2:20 PM on January 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Brown Marmorated Stinkbugs are an incredibly destructive pest when it comes to agriculture and having one in your home could lead to hundreds/thousands of others as the above New Yorker article goes into great detail about as they have a pheromone that attracts others.
Crushing the bug is what releases the "stink" so would definitely go the "trap and release" route.
You might consider reporting the siting in the effort to track the invasion and maybe help in the effort of combatting them
posted by brookeb at 2:20 PM on January 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
FYI they are edible, the Mexican natives have been eating them for centuries, they’re called jumiles
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:09 AM on January 14, 2019
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:09 AM on January 14, 2019
FYI they are edible, the Mexican natives have been eating them for centuries, they’re called jumiles
Brown marmorated stinkbugs might be edible, and there appear to be some reports of folks eating them experimentally, but they are not the same species as jumiles, so YMMV.
posted by musicinmybrain at 6:42 AM on January 14, 2019
Brown marmorated stinkbugs might be edible, and there appear to be some reports of folks eating them experimentally, but they are not the same species as jumiles, so YMMV.
posted by musicinmybrain at 6:42 AM on January 14, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by homodachi at 12:07 PM on January 13, 2019