Another insect wards off predators using a smell like carrion and feces—a species of burying beetle called Nicrophorus vespilloides, she notes.
They feed on the protein-rich poop of their adult caretakers instead. Bess beetles also use poop to construct protective pupal cases. The larvae can't do the work on their own, though. Adults help them form the feces into a case around them.
Stink bugs get their name from the unpleasant odor they produce when they are threatened. Scientists think this odor helps protect the bugs against predators. The stink bugs produce the smelly chemical in a gland on their abdomen. Some species can actually spray the chemical several inches.
The pungent odor emitted by this bug has been described as smelling like cilantro, as well as woody, oily, or similar to burnt tires. Some people go as far as describing the scent as acridly sweet, ammonia-like, or familiar to that of a skunk.
The most common stink bug lookalikes native to North America are the Kissing bug, the Western conifer seed bug, and the Boxelder bug. In most cases, these bugs are completely harmless (unless you happen to be a fruit), though they can become a nuisance when they come indoors.
Stink Bug Damage:
Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs eat by sucking juices from plants. Unless your home is seriously infested or you have in-house fruit trees, they probably won't do much damage to your indoor plants; however, as living creatures, they will excrete, i.e., poop, in your house.
It may surprise you to learn that indoors, stink bugs do not typically eat anything. Stink bugs found inside your home will be looking for somewhere to overwinter. While overwintering, they do not eat, and will most likely look for warm, dark places to hide in until warmer weather returns.
Combining hot water, white vinegar and dish soap in a spray bottle will get the job done with very little fuss. First, pour 2 cups of hot water in the spray bottle. Then add 1 cup of vinegar, followed by 1/2 cup of dish soap.
The stink bug smell can vary, and not everyone experiences it the same way—and some people can't smell it at all. “The chemical blend may make the scent differ between types of insect, so it is hard to describe the general odor, but it is an acrid but somewhat sweet smell,” says Bertone.
Stink bugs come inside a home because they want a warm place to stay during colder weather while they are inactive. If it's hard for them to enter a house, they'll go somewhere else. When they find a good place to stay, they release a pheromone that attracts more stink bugs.
The good news is that stink bugs don't bite. They also don't harm people or pets, nor do they spread disease. However, some people are allergic to the compounds released by the stink bug. Symptoms of this allergy can include a runny nose and, if you come in contact with crushed bugs, dermatitis.
Don't forget that the beneficial stink bugs and other non-vegetarian insects really are helpful and should be protected. They feed on and help control moths, caterpillars, harmful beetles, aphids and many other pests without hurting plants or people.
In the strictest, most technical use of the word, frass is the excrement of insects and their larvae. In some cases, frass leavings alone are present while in other cases, frass may be mixed with sawdust that the insects have chewed or reused to appear like mud, for example.
Bits of insect feces, or frass, are so small that only a substantial accumulation will usually be noticeable. This indicates that a large number of insects are present. You can identify five common household pests -- cockroaches, fleas, bed bugs, carpenter ants and termites -- by their frass.
Roaches commonly produce frass that looks like black pepper. Bed bugs, fleas and other insects that feed on blood leave behind hard flecks that appear dark maroon or black. This frass releases a reddish pigment when dropped in water.
Stink bugs typically search for overwintering sights in the late fall before drastic changes in temperature. They will spend winter hiding inside the walls, attics or crawl spaces of a building, but can sometimes be seen near windows or doors as they first come inside.
Adult brown marmorated stink bugs tend to live between six to eight months.
Adult stink bugs have two pairs of wings and are fully capable of taking flight. The wings located near their heads are rough, hard and may occasionally appear to have a leathery texture.
What Do Stink Bug Eggs Look Like? Adults overwinter inside homes and other structures and will emerge sometime in the spring. When they emerge, female stink bugs begin mating and laying eggs, which are barrel-shaped and light green in color.
Brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSBs) are native to China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. They were unintentionally introduced into the United States, with the first specimen being collected in Pennsylvania in 1998.
Overall, the insects are shaped like tear drops. Stink bugs are less svelte than kissing bugs, with more block-shaped heads and bodies, as well as thicker legs and antennae. In the US, kissing bugs are typically black or very dark brown, with distinct red, orange, or yellow stripes around the edges of their bodies.
They also leave behind reddish droppings on your curtains, walls, etc. They tend to gather in large clusters. When one finds a suitable site, it releases an aggregation pheromone, a scent that attracts other brown marmorated stink bugs to the area.
Don't Squish Them!
The name says it all: Stink Bug. As a defense mechanism, these smelly critters release an odor when they are crushed or smashed.
Get weather stripping, and patch even the tiniest sliver in the wall. Grab a can of foam spray to block holes around outdoor electrical outlets. But don't flush stink bugs down the toilet, Raupp said. That will only waste water and drive up your water bill.