It’s that time of year again — the season of pumpkin spice, crisp autumn mornings, changing leaves…oh, and stink bugs! These smelly pests are likely making their way to a garden near you as we speak. While these red-eyed insects are harmless to people and pets, they can seriously damage gardens if allowed to multiply!
Let’s get into the stink bug life cycle so you can better understand how these odorous pests operate and what you can do to keep them out of your garden and your home!
The Stink Bug Life Cycle
The stink bug life cycle has three basic stages common to most insects: egg, nymph, and adult. These stages of maturity will affect your yard in different ways, and understanding each stage will empower you to get the help you need to stop an infestation in its track!
Stage 1: Stink Bug Egg
Stink bugs typically lay their eggs in the late spring and summer months. You’ll find these tiny, barrel-shaped eggs clustered together in groups of 20-30 on the underside of leaves, where their light green or pale yellow color helps them to blend in. This stage can last anywhere from five days to two weeks, depending on the specific species of stink bug.
Stage 2: Stink Bug Nymph
Stink bug eggs hatch into nymphs, which are red or orange in color (or black in the later nymphal stages) and grow from around 2 millimeters at the first instar (before molting) to 12 millimeters at the fifth instar (final molting). Stink bug nymphs are often mistaken for ticks and don’t have fully developed, functional wings. One of the most familiar identifying features of stink bugs also develops during this stage: their red eyes!
Nymphs tend to stick very close to the egg cluster after hatching, feeding off of nearby vegetation and not venturing out further until the later phases of the nymph stage. At this point, nymphs become pests as they eat away at the surrounding fruits, vegetables, and plants near their egg mass. Nymphs spend about one week in each instar, taking a little over a month to reach full maturity.
Stage 3: Adult Stink Bug
A nymph reaches adulthood after a final molting leaves them with the familiar triangular shield-like shell on their back and functional wings. They are usually brown or green in color and ½ to ¾ inches in length. About two weeks after a nymph matures into an adult, they are able to start reproducing.
Adult stink bugs also feed off of vegetation. Still, they have the added benefit of traveling to new locations, spreading the love to different gardens, and leaving behind their offspring to continue the work of destroying agriculture.
Stink Bug Mating and Reproduction
An adult stink bug lives for six to eight months, giving them ample time to produce a few generations of future stinkers to carry on their putrid legacy. A single female stink bug can lay as many as 500 eggs in her lifetime, producing broods in clusters of 20-30 eggs.
Thanks to their newly developed wings, adult stink bugs can fly away from the host plant where they grew up and spread the love to other locations. While this is valuable for their role in pollination and as favored prey for birds and other natural predators, these invasive species are better kept out of your yard, garden, and home.
Overwintering Stink Bugs: How They Get Into Your Home
As the weather gets cooler, stink bugs begin their search for warm overwintering sites, which often leads them straight into your home. They’re drawn to sheltered spaces such as walls, attics, and crawl spaces, where they can remain dormant during the winter months. While stink bugs don’t bite or cause structural damage, they release a foul odor if disturbed, making their presence unpleasant.
When spring arrives and temperatures warm up, stink bugs begin to emerge from their winter hiding spots. You might find yourself dealing with more than just a few, as they tend to congregate in large numbers. This sudden reappearance can be overwhelming, and without professional help, it can feel like you’re facing a full-on invasion.
What to Do if You Have Stink Bugs in Your Home or Yard
In Kansas City, the brown marmorated stink bug has become an issue in recent decades. Because this particular species is native to slightly warmer climates, it has been known to invade homes seeking warmth during the fall and winter months.
If you find stink bugs in your home or garden — no matter the phase in their life cycle — here’s what to do:
1. DO NOT Squish!
Stink bugs are like the skunks of the insect world — they only reek if they’re threatened or smushed. If you want to avoid this foul aroma, don’t attempt to deal with stink bugs by squashing them.
2. DO Practice Prevention
Prevention is the better part of valor when it comes to pest control! If you notice signs of stink bug activity in your yard or garden, make sure your home is sealed up and treated to prevent them from making entry into your household. This is good practice for keeping pests out of your house in general!
3. DO Contact Advantage Termite & Pest Control
If you want to keep the stink out of your home and yard this fall, contact Advantage Termite & Pest Control to sign up for our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program to put an end to your pest woes! With both one-time and quarterly programs, we have a treatment plan for every home to help eliminate pests and keep your home and garden safe.
Call us at first sight (or smell!) – we do it right!
