ShortHand Publishing - Stinkbug Article

Bugs Raising a Stink in Local Homes

by Dr. Bug

(This article is as it appeared in the “Lumby Valley Times”

Oct. 8/03 Vol. 14 No. 40)

Home owners in the North Okanagan have been invaded by unprecedented numbers of stingbugs this fall. They cover the walls, crawl into the siding, invade the window casings, and eventually find their way right inside the house. And they stink as they go, an unpleasant almond-like odour. What ARE these things? Why are they HERE?

These nuisance creatures are locally known as “stingbugs” but their official common name is the Western Conifer Seedbug. They feed on the seeds of conifers such as pines, douglas-fir, and larch. They are native to BC and the USA west of the Rockies, and have been here for much longer than we have. They are natural residents of our forests, as anyone whose house is near the forest can attest.

A rumor that these members of the Leaf-Footed Bug family were imported by the BC Forest Service to control mountain pine beetle is not true.

They can’t eat mountain pine beetles anymore than rabbits can eat magpies. The recent explosion in numbers is probably because of several warm winters in a row, leading to low mortality during the winter. To compound that, the hot dry summer we had in 2003 is perfect for rapid reproduction. The result: a massive population seeking out our homes in the fall.

But why seek out our homes? They are simply looking for a place to rest their heels for the winter. They are programmed, come autumn, to seek out large objects with cracks and crevices, such as a big tree trunk or the face of a large rock. They crawl deep inside the cracks, where they are protected from harsh winter weather.

A house provides an ideal resting place – though not because it’s warm. In fact, these cold blooded creatures require a cold winter: the warmth of a house will keep their metabolism turned up high, using fat reserves up too fast. The bugs will eventually starve to death. If these stinky pests knew that our warm cosy houses spell death for them, they might leave us alone.

But the bugs, known scientifically as Leptoglossus occidentalis, can’t foresee their peril, and so we must cope. What to do? They are simply nuisance pests, and won’t cause structural damage to your house. The best thing is to just put up with them for the month or two they are abundant. Wash them off your house with the jet of water, vacuum them up with a shopvac, remove them from inside with a Kleenex. The stinky liquid washes off with water.

Preventing entry into your house is difficult. They find their way into even new, tightly-built houses. However, caulking window casings, soffits, and mouldings may help. Temporarily tape over ventilation holes the larger than 1/8” wide and ¼” long.

If you don’t mind spraying the outside of your house with poison, insecticides can be used around window casings, mouldings, etc. Most bug bombs provide short-term control at best, but some types with a directed jet, like crawling insect or wasp and hornet killers, can kill stingbugs for up to two weeks. Look for those with trans-allethrin, a chemical which can provide a lasting control. Some commercial pest control outfits will also treat your entire house to kill the bugs. Of course, the problem then becomes one of dealing with snow drifts of dead dogs on your porch. Remember that any insecticide is poisonous: follow the label instructions to a “T”.

If we continue to get warm winters and hot summers, we will have to learn to live with the smelly pests. The fact that we are invading of their territory doesn’t make them any less unpleasant. For more information on controlling them, please contact a pest control operator (under “pest” in the yellow pages,) or visit your local garden center.