TheBrownMarmoratedS nkBug(BMSB):Informa onfor

MichiganResidentsonaNewHomeInvader
PaulBotch,DepartmentofEntomology,MichiganStateUniversity
DianeBrown,MichiganStateUniversityExtension

M
anyMichiganresidentsmaynotyetbefamiliarwiththebrownmarmorateds nkbug(BMSB),
buttheymayhaveseenthisnewinvasivepestcrawlingaroundinsidehomes.Similartothemul
coloredAsianladybeetle,thiss nkbugentersbuildingsinthefallto
overwinterandcanbeaseriousnuisance.Someinfesta onscanreachstaggering
numbers(Inkley,2012).Ineasternstateswherethispestisestablished,over25,000
bugshavebeenreportedinasinglehome!TheBMSBisna vetoAsiaandhasfew
predatorsinNorthAmericaadaptedtofeedingonit.Consequently,itcon nuesto
spreadacrosstheU.S.inlargenumbers.Unlikethemul coloredAsianladybeetle,
theBMSBfeedsonplantsandcancausemassivedamagetoawidevarietyoffruits,
vegetables,nuts,legumesandothervaluablecropsinMichigan.Therefore,BMSB
Adult brown marmorated
isanotonlyanuisancepestofhomesandgardensbutaneconomicpestofagricul
s nk bug Photo:Paul
ture.Thisfactsheetwillprovideinforma onandadvicetoMichiganresidentsfor Botch,MSUDepartmentof
dealingwiththisnewinvasivepest. Entomology

Brown marmorated s nk bugs

clustered on a porch screen
door in September.
(D.Sillman,PennStateUniversi
ty)h p://www.psu.edu/dept/
nkbiology/naturetrail/
speciespages/s nkbug.html

Home Invasions
Michiganresidentswillo enno ceBMSBoutsidetheirhomesatthebeginningoffall(Septemberand
October)beforetheyinvadetheinterior.Astheweathercools,thes nkbugstendtoaggregateonsouth
andwestfacingsidesofthehomethatreceivethemostsunlight.InthemidAtlan cU.S.,whereBMSBhas
beenestablishedforalongerperiodof me,theseaggrega onscanbequitelarge.InMichigan,aggrega
onsmayonlyconsistofahandfulofbugsnow,butitisexpectedthatnumberswillincreaseover me.As
popula onscon nuetogrowoverthenextseveralyears,moreandmoreoftheseinvasives nkbugswill
seekshelterinsideofhomes.
BMSBenterhomesjustaboutwhereverandhowevertheycanfindawayin.Entrypointscaninclude
gapsarounddoors,windowsoraircondi onerunits.S nkbugscancrawlbehindvinylandshinglesidingto
entera csorwallspaces(Inkley2012).A cvents,looseorcrackedfascia,andu lityinterfacescanalso
serveasentrypointsforBMSB(IngelsandVarela2014).Onceinside,BMSBcaninfestlivingspacesthrough
outhomesandalsohideinlargenumbersina cs,wallsandcrawlspaces(Inkley2012).Truetotheirname,
thesebugss nk.
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 Managing Brown Marmorated S nk Bug (BMSB) in Homes and Gardens
Whenthreatenedorcrushed,theBMSBemitdefensivesecre onsthathaveanunpleasantodor.S nk
bugfrassstainswallsandcurtainsinhomes(Inkley2012).Althoughtheydonotharmpeopleorpetsby
bi ngorspreadingdisease,largeinfesta onsinhomescancontributetoairborneallergies(Mertzetal,
2012).A erthefallinvasion,BMSBwillseekoutsecluded,darkplacesinhomestooverwinter.Duringthe
coldestmonths,thes nkbugsarerela velyinac veandmaygounno cedbyhomeoccupants.Oncethe
weatherwarms,however,thes nkbugswillbegincrawlingandflyingaroundthehomeastheya emptto
exit,feedandreproduce.
Background Informa on and Current Distribu on
TheBMSBisna vetoSoutheastAsiaandwasaccidentlyintroducedintothemidAtlan cregionofthe
UnitedStatesinthelate1990s.Ithassincespreadto42states,includingMichigan,whereitwasfirstde
tectedin2010.Asof2015,MSUDiagnos c
ServicesreportsthattheBMSBhasbeende 2010:Berrien
tectedin23of68coun esofMichigansLower 2011:Eaton,Genesee,Monroe,Lenawee,Ingham
2012:Allegan,Clinton,Kent,Oakland,Washtenaw,
Peninsula.Currently,theBMSBismostcom Wayne
monlyfoundinthesouthernandcentralareas 2013:GrandTraverse,O awa
2014:Jackson,Oceana,Cass,(Kalamazoo,VanBuren)
ofthestateandiso enassociatedwithurban ()=pendingverifica on
areas.Reportsofhomeinfesta onsarewide
spread,includingareasofDetroit,GrandRap
ids,Kalamazoo,Lansing,St.JosephandJackson.
IthasbeendetectedasfarnorthasTraverse
City.Majorhighwaysandtracmovingbe
tweenci esarecorridorsfordispersalbecause
thiss nkbugisanexcellentstowawayandwill
hitchhikeonshippingvehicles,campersand 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
evenluggage.Duetoitsabilitytospreadquick Firstreportsforbrownmarmorateds nkbugsinMichigan
ly,andbecauseofcurrentlimitedcontrolop
A map of Michigan coun es where brown marmorated s nk bug has
ons,theBMSBwilllikelycon nuetoincrease been detected. M. Haas and L. Gut, MSU, 2014
itsrangeanddensityacrossMichiganoverthe h p://www.ipm.msu.edu/invasive_species/
nextseveralyears. brown_marmorated_s nk_bug

Exclusion
Therecommendedapproachtomanages nkbugsinresiden alareasistoexcludethemfromentering
homes.Screensonwindowsanddoorsshouldbereplacedorrepairediftheyhaveanyholesordonotfit
ghtly.Screeningcanalsobeusedtoblockaccessthroughwindowaircondi onerunits,chimneys,anddry
erora cvents.Damagedweatherstrippingondoorsandwindowsshouldbereplacedsothat ghtseals
areformedtopreventaccess.Gapssurroundingwindowaircondi oners,u lityinterfacesorothercracks
canbesealedusingsiliconecaulkorinsula ngfoamsealant(IngelsandVarela2014;Quarles2014).Special
a en onshouldbegiventoanygapsonthesouthandwestfacingsidesofbuildingsbecauses nkbugswill
o enaggregateontheseareaswhentheweatherstartstocool.Commercials nkbugtrapsplacedstrate
gicallyoutdoorsmayalsolimitthenumberofBMSBthatinvadehomesinthefall.

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 Managing Brown Marmorated S nk Bug (BMSB) in Homes and Gardens
Eradica on
Thebestwaytoremoves nkbugsfromahomeisavacuumcleaner.Ashopvacuumisrecommended
becauses nkbugodorcanabsorbintoconven onalvacuumcleaners.TheBMSBcanalsobekilledbydrop
pingthemintoapanofsoapywater.Someresourcefulpeoplehavefoundthatmoun ngalightordesk
lampaboveapanofsoapywatermakesaninexpensiveindoortrap.Thes nkbugsarea ractedtolight
abovethepanandwillthenfallintothepananddrown(Quarles2014).
Usingpes cidesindoorstoeradicateBMSBisnotrecommended.Aerosolfoggersusedinlivingspaces
willnotkillBMSBthatareshelteredincrawlspacesorwallinteriors,andapplyingpes cidesinsideofwalls
orcrawlspaceswilllikelya ractotherinsectsandpeststofeedontheBMSBcarcasses(Quarles2014).Fora
YouTubevideowith psonkeepings nkbugsoutofyourhousevisit:h ps://youtu.be/9jIgJ4WjryY
Garden and Agricultural Pest
MichiganresidentsmayalsofindBMSBfeedingintheirgardens.Thispestfeedsonover300dierent
plants,includingmostthingshomegardenersmaywanttocul vate.TheBMSBfeedonplantsbyinser ng
theirlongbeaksintofruit,vegetableorleaf ssue.Salivaistheninjectedtobreakdowntheplant ssue.
Theresul ngdamageincludespi ng,discolora onandro ngofthefruit,whichmakesitunappe zingas
wellascommerciallyunsaleable.BecauseMichiganrankssecondinagriculturaldiversitynexttoCalifornia
(www.michigan.gov/mdard),thereismoun ngconcernabouttheeconomicimpactthiss nkbugcould
haveonawiderangeofMichigangrowers.SomeexamplesofplantsfedonbyBMSBinclude:
Smallfruit:grapes,blueberry,raspberry
Vegetables:tomatoes,sweetcorn,pepper,beans,okra,eggplant
Fieldcrops:soybean,sunflower
Ornamentalplants:paulownia(princesstree),persimmon,catalpa,walnut,
maple,sweetgum,redbud,Americanholly,crabapple,basswood,bu erfly
bush,viburnum,rose,honeysuckle
Wildandna veplants:sugarmaple,pawpaw,hickory,hackberry,autumn
olive,blackwalnut,honeysuckle,whitemulberry,Americansycamore,black
locust,sassafras,treeofheaven
AcompiledlistofplantsthattheBMSBisknowntofeedoninNorthAmericais
locatedat:h p://www.stopbmsb.org/whereisbsmb/hostplants/ BMSB feeding on tree fruits such as apple results
in corky spots under the skin which renders the
Gardeninsec cidesarenotconsideredtohavelonglas ngeec fruit unmarketable as a fresh product. Photo:
SteveJacobs,PSU
venessagainsts nkbugs,especiallyadults,andaddi onalresearch
isneededtodeterminehowtobestusetheminmanagingtheBMSB(IngelsandVarela2014).Baitedtraps
containingpheromonelurescanbeeec vetoolsinremovings nkbugsfromanarea.Unfortunately,
trapsplacedingardensmayalsoa ractBMSBandincreasefeedingdamageontomatofruits(Sargentet
al,2014).S nkbugscanbemanuallyremovedfromgardensbyhandpickinganddisposing,howeverthey
areo enhiddenbyfoliageandtendtodropfromvegeta onwhentheyaredisturbed(IngelsandVarela
2014).Naturalenemiessuchasassassinbugs,earwigsandgreenlacewinglarvaefeedonvariousBMSB
lifestagesbutdonoteec velycontrolBMSB(IngelsandVarela2014).Classicalbiologicalcontrolusing
Asianparasitoidwaspsiscurrentlybeingevaluatedasamanagementtac candmayul matelycontribute
toalongtermsolu onforreducingBMSBpopula ons(Leskeyetal,2012).TheMSUDepartmentofEnto
mologyisevalua ngoneofthesewaspsasapoten albiologicalcontrolagent.Foraddi onalinforma on,
visith p://delfosse.ent.msu.edu/.

3
 Managing Brown Marmorated S nk Bug (BMSB) in Homes and Gardens
Iden fica on
Michiganhasover75speciesofna ves nkbugs,
manyofwhichlooksimilartoBMSB(Swanson2012).The
BMSBcanbeiden fiedbyitsoverallmarbledbrownap
pearance,smoothshoulders,alterna ngblackandwhite
stripingalongitsabdomen,andwhitebandingonlegs
andantennae.Thesekeycharacterscanbeusedto
quicklyiden fyBMSBanddieren atebetweenna ve
s nkbuglookalikes.Otherinsectsthatinvadehomes,
whicharesome mesconfusedwiththeBMSB,include
thewesternconiferseedbugandtheboxelderbug.

The brown marmorated s nk bug (BMSB) (Photocredits:

Other common home invaders include the
BerniceDeMarco,MichiganStateUniversity.Figureedits:
boxelder bug (l) and the western conifer
DelfosseClassicalBiologicalControlLab,Departmentof
seed bug (r). Photocredits:JosephBerber,Bugwood.org.andDonald
Entomology,MichiganStateUniversity).
Owen,Bugwood.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To report sigh ngs of brown marmorated s nk bug in your home or business:
h p://www.ipm.msu.edu/invasive_species/brown_marmorated_s nk_bug

To learn more about the status and management of BMSB, visit: h p://www.stopbmsb.org/
References Cited
Ingels,C.andL.Varela.2014.Brownmarmorateds nkbug.PestNotes,Pub.74169,UniversityofCaliforniaStatewideIPM.4pp.
Inkley,D.B.2012.Characteris csofhomeinvasionbythebrownmarmorateds nkbug(Hemiptera:Pentatomidae).JournalofEntomological
Science.47(2):125130.
Leskey,T.C.,etal,2012.Peststatusofthebrownmarmorateds nkbug,HalyomorphahalysintheUSA.OutlooksonPestManagement.23(4):
218226.
Mertz,T.L.,etal,2012.Thebrownmarmorateds nkbugasanewaeroallergen.JournalofAllergyandClinicalImmunology.130(4):9991001.
Quarles,W.2014.IPMforthebrownmarmorateds nkbug.IPMPrac oner.34(3):18.
Sargent,C.,H.M.Mar nson,andM.J.Raupp.2014.Trapsandtrapplacementmayaectloca onofbrownmarmorateds nkbug(Hemiptera:
Pentatomidae)andincreaseinjurytotomatofruitsinhomegardens.EnvironmentalEntomology.43(2):432438.
Swanson,D.R.2012.AnupdatedsynopsisofthePentatomoidea(Heteroptera)ofMichigan.TheGreatLakesEntomologist.45:263311.

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