All about stink bugs

The stink bug is a frequent visitor to the garden. Every summer resident has probably come across him. How this insect looks like, how dangerous it is for humans and plants planted on the site, as well as how to remove such bugs, we will tell in this article.

Bug "stinker", he is also green tree stink bug, belongs to the family Real shitniki and to the squad of hemiptera. As a rule, this insect is most often found in the fields, but summer residents often encounter it in gardens and vegetable gardens. This bug looks like a small bug, the size of which can be from 1 to 1.5 centimeters. The color of the bug depends on what species it belongs to. So, the cruciferous bug has a variegated color, the berry bug has a mustard shell, the tree bug is light green, and the turtle is brown.

This insect moves mainly with the help of its legs, but it also has wings, which are located in the back of the back. The wingspan is small, and therefore the bug needs to spend a large amount of energy resources for takeoff.

It is worth saying about the features of this insect. These include the unpleasant smell that comes from it - a person can smell it, being three meters from the insect. The aroma is especially enhanced at the moments when the insect senses danger. A person can feel it by accidentally crushing or, worse, biting through an insect along with a raspberry berry - a disgusting taste will be felt literally right away. This feature of the insect is due to the presence of odorous glands located on the cephalothorax, which secrete a special secret. An unpleasant aroma helps the bug to protect itself from forest and domestic birds and predators that prefer to feed on insects, it does not interfere with the insect itself.

It is impossible not to mention the egg-laying of this insect. So, an adult female in one season can create two clutches of eggs, up to 100 eggs at a time, which have a light green color. In this case, the eggs are located on the back of the leaf. If the summer is long, then the population of bedbugs may increase slightly, as the females begin to lay eggs for the third time. The larvae begin to hatch after two weeks, and sometimes after a month, which is mainly due to unfavorable natural conditions. It is worth considering that not all of the 100 larvae manage to survive. Many of them die. However, those who survived begin to attack cultivated plants, actively feeding on their juices.

At the same time, it is also interesting that during its life during the growth period, this insect can change its shell 5 times, as it becomes cramped for it... This phenomenon ends only after the bug grows completely. These insects are activated mainly in the warm season, when you can easily get food and mate. When the first signs of frost appear, the bug tries to hide. Most often, this insect chooses old foliage for hibernation.

Phytophagous bugs harm garden plants and vegetables... All bugs have a special proboscis with which they absorb juice from their food.This type of bedbugs feeds mainly on the juices of shoots and foliage of cultivated plants, thereby causing great harm to them. The plantings subsequently begin to weaken, lose their immunity, which is why they become more susceptible to various diseases.

There are those types of bugs that prefer to feed on the fruits of plants, they are also harmful. Such bugs release a special liquid into the fruit to liquefy the pulp, which makes it easier for them to feed. Subsequently, such fruits acquire a nasty aroma, it becomes impossible to eat them.

The garden bug is not dangerous to humans. They don't bite. They are simply not able to bite through human skin, which is due to the softness of their proboscis - it is adapted for sucking juices from fruits and green mass of plants. Moreover, the digestive system of these insects cannot digest human blood. Therefore, it is impossible to get a bite from them.

The only harm that such bugs cause to people is an unpleasant smell and taste that remains after insects on berries and plants. It is almost impossible to withdraw it. But do not confuse garden bugs with a carnivorous bug - this species prefers to feed on small invertebrates.

This type of harmful insects feeds on almost everything that grows in outdoor conditions.... The preferences of bedbugs depend only on which species they belong to. So, one variety prefers vegetable crops, others feed on berries or green leaves and young shoots, and still others feed on cereals.

For example, berry bugs actively attack raspberry berries, as well as currants, strawberry bushes, sea buckthorn and a number of other bushes. The cruciferous shield bugs prefers to live where plants belonging to the cruciferous family grow, namely horseradish, mustard, radish, rare and others, insects feed on them. Separately, it should be said about such bugs, which are not picky and eat everything that only they come across.

A secret contributes to the reproduction of these pests, which is also a source of an unpleasant odor. It is he who helps the bug to attract the attention of a partner for further reproduction. However, for mating, these insects need special conditions, namely, the temperature of the air masses from 20 to 30 degrees and the presence of food nearby.

These insects can mate as early as 1.5 months of their life. This process takes place as follows: the male penetrates with the genital organ into the abdomen of the female, after which the seed remains there, which is used by the female for its intended purpose.

Smelly bugs can be found both in the garden area, for example, on raspberries, cucumbers or tomatoes, and at home or in an apartment, in particular, on a balcony or on a window. It is not difficult to recognize this harmful insect. First of all, you should pay attention to the colors, which can vary depending on the type of insect, and the shape of the body - as a rule, it looks like a small shield. In this case, the size of the insect should not exceed 1.6 centimeters.

Above all, the insect stinks, which is also its distinctive feature. Such bugs often live near a food source - these can be young leaves, berries, wheat and more.

Agrotechnical methods of struggle will help not only get rid of unwanted guests on the site, but also contribute to the improvement of the condition of cultivated plants. Agrotechnical methods of control include cleansing the area from weeds, which are most often the main carriers of parasites, removing old foliage from the site, since spores of harmful fungi and parasite larvae can hide and winter in it.

It is worth mentioning about the landing near the site of the black cohosh, which is known among the people only as black cohosh. This plant will serve as a beautiful decoration of the site, because it blooms luxuriously. In addition, it will be of practical use. The leaves and stems of cimicifugi contain a special sap that is poisonous to bedbugs, but absolutely does not pose a danger to people. The flower itself smells nice, but this scent scares away bugs and many other parasites from the site. The plant has a number of other advantages: it is picky, does not need special care, multiplies easily and is capable of blooming before the onset of frost.

Mechanical methods of control will be useful only if the stink bugs have not yet had time to breed. In this case, you can prevent the possibility of an increase in their number. To do this, it will be necessary to collect bugs with your own hands or use a special device, an exhauster, which is designed to capture parasites.

However, it should be borne in mind that this method of control does not guarantee that harmful insects have not yet had time to breed. It is best to combine the mechanical method with chemical or folk remedies - this will be several times more effective.

Chemicals are among the most effective methods of dealing with harmful stinking beetles. However, it is reasonable to use chemicals only if the number of stink bugs is large: 2 or more insects per bush. Otherwise, it is better to resort to other methods, because chemicals, despite their effectiveness, can harm not only parasitic insects, but also useful ones, as well as humans and the plant itself.

If you nevertheless decide to use chemicals in the fight against bedbugs, then it is worth considering that not every remedy is capable of removing these insects. So, the following chemicals are especially popular: "Arrivo", "Alatar", "On the spot", "Aktellik" and a number of others. Before using this or that tool in practice, you need to familiarize yourself with how to use it - usually there is a special instruction on the packaging for this. However, it should be borne in mind that do not use the same product several times in a row. Otherwise, the body of bedbugs can simply get used to the chemical, because of which it will subsequently be practically harmless to them.

Means prepared according to folk recipes are not distinguished by the high cost of ingredients and the complexity in terms of creation. Most often, they can be prepared from available tools. They are less effective than chemical preparations, but they do not harm either humans, or warm-blooded animals, or beneficial insects, or the plant itself. Often folk remedies are used in cases where stink bugs have not yet had time to breed, as well as for preventive purposes.

So, for one of these solutions, you can use mustard powder. You will need 0.1 kilograms of fixed assets, 0.5 liters of pre-heated water and 9.5 liters of ordinary water. The hot water must be thoroughly mixed with mustard powder, after which the rest of the water must be added. After that, the solution can be used by first pouring it into the spray bottle. It is necessary to spray the resulting mixture thoroughly, well wetting both sides of the leaf - both the top and bottom.

A solution that can help fight stink bugs can also be prepared onion peel-based... It is done simply: 10 liters of water is mixed with 0.3 kilograms of the main component. All this must be left to be instructed for 5 days. After the required time has elapsed, the mixture must be filtered, after which it can be used by spraying on the plants with a spray bottle. In a similar way, by the way, a solution is prepared wormwood-based which is also suitable for controlling harmful bedbugs.