This past season, I struggled with green stink bugs in my garden for the first time. I found them on all my tomatoes and eggplant bushes. So, let’s look into this little monster and learn more about them.
Stink bugs are “large, oval-shaped insects” and “shield-shaped insects.” Adult stink bugs can reach almost 2 cm in length. They are nearly as wide as long, and their legs extend from the sides, making them appear even larger. Stink bugs get their name from the unpleasant odor they produce when threatened. It is thought that this odor helps protect the bugs against predators.
The stink bugs produce the smelly chemical in a gland on their abdomen. Some species can spray the chemical several centimeters. The smell is often compared to strong herbs and spices like coriander.
Stink Bug Damage
Stink bugs generally mate during the spring and spend the winter months in sheltered areas. The females can produce 30 to 100 eggs at one time and as many as 400 baby stink bugs in their lifetime. Stink bug eggs are usually deposited on the underside of host plants.
Once temperatures rise in spring, stink bugs emerge from their winter hibernation. Females eventually begin laying their eggs on whatever plants are readily available. The larvae and adult stink bugs will feed on plant juices but may also attack nearby fruits and vegetables.
Stink bugs damage plants by piercing and sucking plant sap from leaves, buds, blossoms and fruit. Damage kills seedlings, stunts plant growth, wilts leaves, and creates superficial spots and pits. Fruit may drop, become deformed, or fail to form at all.
While feeding, the green stink bugs inject digestive enzymes into food, liquefying its contents, which they then feed upon. This action reduces the quality of the fruit or seed. The feeding wound also provides an opportunity for pathogens to gain entry.
Stink bugs prefer, beans, peppers, and tomatoes, as well as corn, eggplant, okra, peas, soybeans, and squash.
How to get rid of or prevent stink bugs in the garden
- You can help prevent stink bugs from entering your garden by planting marigolds, buckwheat, or tansy, which are known to attract parasitic wasps. The wasps lay their eggs in stink bug eggs, killing the developing insect. Growing garlic, catnip, lavender, thyme, chrysanthemum, and even radishes will help repel stink bugs. Read here on how to attract beneficial insects to your garden [1].
- If numbers are low, you can hand-pick the insects and drop them in soapy water (don’t crush them!). Most stink bugs drop downward when disturbed, so if you hold the container of soapy water beneath them, they’ll fall in. If you spot clusters of barrel-shaped eggs on the underside of leaves or newly hatched nymphs, be sure to crush or remove them, too.
- If you had a stink bug infestation in the summer, they are probably overwintering in the garden. I hard pruned my eggplant bushes, cleaning away all old leaves around the plants.
During winter, stink bugs go into something called “diapause.” Diapause is a hibernation-like state in which stink bugs remain inactive. They huddle in leaf bundles, hollow logs, and other insulated materials until spring.
- Diatomaceous earth can damage stink bugs’ exoskeletons upon contact, which can also kill them. It breaks down the stink bug’s exoskeleton, causing them to die of dehydration as their bodies can no longer retain water. Buy your Diatomaceous earth here. [2]
Read here how to use Diatomaceous earth [3]
- Neem oil is a naturally occurring pesticide that can kill stink bugs by interfering with their instinctual behaviors. When ingested by stink bugs, it can make them feel like they are no longer hungry and even cause infertility in the insects. Buy your neem oil here. [4]
Stink bugs can be very annoying in the garden. While I am typing this, I can still smell them because, yes, I squashed them. I have cleaned my beds, hoping to remove most of them. I will keep a keen eye on them this coming season.
Happy gardening friends.
Tash and Family