This article was published in the Lenoir News-Topic.
They’re everywhere this fall – but they’re relative newcomers.
Thumbnail-sized brown or gray bugs crawling into homes, cars and businesses around Caldwell County are brown marmorated stink bugs – not the green stink bugs native to North Carolina.
Native to Korea, brown marmorated stink bugs first crawled their way into North Carolina in 2009, after entering the United States in 2001. These insects start making their way into warm structures – like your house – in September and October, seeking winter shelter. They can’t harm people, but they do, true to their name, secrete a chemical that doesn’t smell particularly pleasant if you squish them. Continue reading