Invading cars, houses, and buildings across the Mid-Atlantic region, stink bugs have become notorious for their pungent odor.
Named the brown marmorated stink bugs, they release odor when they’re threatened by a predator or killed.
“The smell [the bugs give off] is pretty indescribable, but if I had to describe it, I would say it smells like rotten cheese and old evergreen,” junior Deandra Casados said.
The bugs may have become more prominent over the past month, but they have been in the surrounding area for little over a decade. “They were first collected in Allentown, PA in 1998, and came over on a shipment from Asia,” Vice President of Operations of Fidelity Pest Control Bernie Cox said.
The reason why the bugs have become more prominent this past September is because of the changing of seasons from summer to autumn. The bugs leave their summer home outside and try to enter houses for the promise of a warm hibernation.
“They know that the winter is coming, and they’ll try to get through the tiniest cracks,” Cox said. Cox added that stink bugs do little damage to homes and will not bite like other insects.
With the fall season knocking at summer’s door, the stink bugs have been sneaking through siding, windows, and doors of homes around the area, which has caused some irritation amongst students.
“It’s not comfortable seeing stink bugs fly around your house,” sophomore Zak Flair said. However, some people do not seem to mind the bugs’ presence.
“Stink bugs have the right to exist,” social studies teacher Robert Schick said. “When I see a stink bug I get a little Kleenex and launch it out of a window.”
Last week JC student drivers reported that multiple stink bugs were either inside of their cars, on the outside windows of their cars, or wedged between cracked windows. Some were even found inside classrooms.
According to Director of Facilities Stewart Walker, the stink bugs are found in open areas around JC like the courtyard and the parking lots.
“I saw them on my brother’s car on the way to school [last] Monday, and thought they would go away by the time we reached school but they didn’t,” Casados said. After school that day, Casados reported that there were at least four stink bugs on every door after leaving the JC student parking lot.
According to Walker, the recent amount of stink bugs at JC has not caused any significant changes among the cleaning staff. “[We are] mainly just monitoring the entrances and openings,” Walker said about the maintaining of the stink bugs.
Getting rid of the stink bugs in homes has proven to be a challenge to pest control companies. “Trying to keep stink bugs out of your house is like trying to keep birds off of your roof,” Cox said.
“Chemical eradication of the bugs is not the answer,” Cox said about keeping stink bugs out of the car and the house. “Make sure all areas of homes are sealed well, because they will come if the areas are not sealed.”
Maggie Cassidy can be reached for comment at [email protected]