That time of year: Bugs getting into the house
October 29, 2014
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The brown marmorated stink bug. (Purdue Department of Entomology photo /John Obermeyer) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - This is the time of year when pesky insects such as ladybugs try to make their way into homes. The Purdue University Department of Entomology has updated its Extension website with information to help homeowners keep them out.
The website's news page (http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/news.php) now has links to Extension publications detailing several insects that are considered nuisances in Indiana at this time, including the Asian lady beetle and brown marmorated stink bug.
"The Extension publications on this website will help homeowners identify the insects, understand their behavior and characteristics, and control them," said Purdue Extension entomologist Timothy Gibb. "And all of the information can be accessed by going to just one place. It’s very convenient. "
The information also will be of interest to pest managers, agriculturists and others in the industry.
The pests that Gibb noted in the publications:
* Brown marmorated stink bug: The invasive pest from China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan has become a serious pest of fruits, vegetables and farm crops as well as a nuisance pest inside homes as it has spread across the United States. The name "stink bug" refers to a pungent odor emitted by the scent glands when the insect is disturbed.
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Asian lady beetles, with various colors and spot patterns, are small enough that all five fit on a penny. (Purdue Department of Entomology photo/John Obermeyer) |
* Asian lady beetle: This particular species of lady beetle is new to Indiana. It looks like most other lady beetles (oval, convex and approximately one-third inch long), but its body color varies dramatically. Asian lady beetles are attracted to abrupt longitudinal color contrasts on buildings, such as black shutters on a white house; highly illuminated or southwest-facing sides; buildings close to trees or woods; and clusters of like lady beetles.
* Boxelder bugs: These bugs might become trapped inside homes, and although they do not harm household furnishings they can be annoying when they crawl or fly about the rooms. The bugs are inactive during the coldest part of the winter, but on warm sunny days in late winter or early spring they begin to return to activity and start leaving their winter shelter in search of egg-laying sites.
* "Bugs in Bad Moods": During the late summer, small insects that are otherwise innocuous can become troublesome. These insects just seem to be in a foul mood and are intent on sharing a bit of their misery with humans before the first freeze of the season takes them out. The culprits come from several different families of insects, including lady beetles, insidious flower bugs and hackberry lace bugs.
* Hackberry nipple gall-making psyllid: In the late fall, adult hackberry psyllids emerge from their galls and fly, sometimes congregating on windows and screens. They are often described as tiny, black, jumping insects and are quite small - small enough to pass through the mesh of many window screens. They also fly to windows again in the late winter or early spring when temperatures begin to warm.
The news page includes a link to counties where the destructive emerald ash borer has been found.
The page is available year-round and contains any insect pest news item of significance at various times of the year.
"It happens that the occasional/nuisance home invaders are active right now and thus featured at this time," Gibb said. "In the winter and spring, different insects will be featured."
Writer: Keith Robinson, 765-494-2722, robins89@purdue.edu
Source: Timothy Gibb, 765-494-4570, gibb@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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