Latest Wisconsin Insect: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

The hits just keep coming, in the form of more unwelcomed six-legged visitors whose real home is across the seas.

A tide of persistent bugs has washed over our Racine County neighborhood Pewaukee and Wisconsin in the past 2 decades: the Japanese beetle and Asian beetle to name a few. All are native to foreign countries. All have caused environmental and economic havoc in the U.S., where no natural predators exist to control them.

The most recent invader winging its way here will literally make a stink.

The brown marmorated stink bug is ¾-inch long, with a wide back side that tapers to a point, and a rectangular head with long antennae. Native to China and east Asia, the insect has been migrating west since being first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2001.

Its name is well-deserved. When smushed or crushed, the brown marmorated stink bug emits an awful, overpowering you'd invite into your Racine County home, right?

Fortunately, the brown marmorated stink bug hasn't arrived in great numbers in Racine County or WI. Stink bug control isn't much of an issue yet. Yet it's only a matter of time.

Farmers dislike them for more than their stink. The insects feast on tree fruits, vegetables, sweet corn and soybeans. Mid-Atlantic apple growers sustained an estimated $37 million in crop losses in 2010 to marmorated stink bugs.

The Asian invasive has a family member that is native to the U.S. The insect looks a lot like the brown marmorated version, except the colors of their undersides are different. We somehow doubt you'll get that far identifying them, though.

Brown marmorated stink bugs like to winter inside Racine County homes. If you step on one, you'll figure it out quickly. The nose knows. If you see more in your Racine County home or yard, don't crush them – contact The Mosquito Guy to address their presence in a safe, non-smelly fashion.  Unlike these bugs, we'll never stink up your joint.