Citrus tree pest - a hint

[ausmac]

Here in Australia we have a citrus tree pest called the Stinkbug. Im not sure if you have it in the US or what is called, but its a pernicious mongrel and my own lemon tree was infested with them. They were slowly but surely killing the tree, and as their name suggests they stink if you kill them physically and are very hard to kill chemically

Comments

[gatehorse]

We have stinkbugs here!(Northeastern US). I think they're a non-native invasive species here. I didn't know they kill citrus trees. I've never seen them in my city, but there were tons of them in the county where I was staying about an hour away for school. While I do have roaches and some kind of aphid (and recently started getting ants :( ) I've never had to live with stinkbugs around my plants. I'll keep this in mind though, as I have a friend in the stinkbug area who has a lemon tree.

Interestingly, I heard that our recent vicious winter killed off 95% of the stinkbugs here. Not the ones that made it inside of course-I'm fully expecting their numbers to recover.

[virginiadear]

Why would anyone wish to---
Oh.
I was about to write, "...control the ladybugs," but I think I know what that refers to.
There's a beetle which looks very much like the ladybug we're used to, but isn't the same. It arrived here via...*digs in memory files*...Mexico, I believe, but I'm not certain. It will, if it can, overwinter inside a heated building or, if it can't, in a crack or opening of any structure with an internal heat source.
My understanding is that "true" ladybugs don't engage in this behavior.

It's ironic, though, that anyone would have thought of using "stink bugs" to control these 'foreign' beetles as they themselves release a stinky chemical substance (the foreign ladybugs do) if they're being crushed, attacked, or if they're upset. And these foreign ones pinch, which the much calmer, garden-beneficial ladybugs we used to capture and release when we were kids, do not.

[rhodielady_47]

I don't suppose you have a picture of your stinkbugs that you could share with us, do you? We also have insects that we call stinkbugs but I'm wondering if they are the same bug or different ones.

It would be VERY INTERESTING to know the name of the chemical or chemicals they sprayed on your tree!

Saying something is "pet and human friendly and safe" can cover a heck of a lot of strange territory. If I were you, I'd want to know the chemical names and then look them up on the internet to see for myself if they are truly "safe and friendly". After all, those chemical(s) aren't safe for the bugs are they?
:)

[virginiadear]

Agreed; that question posed itself to me, too

[ausmac]

Naturally its something people would need to check for themselves, I can only go on my experience. Ive never had an adverse reaction to the chemicals used around my home, and the pest people don't even wear protective gear themselves. As I say, its up to each person to check any chemical used around them, no matter what its for.

[virginiadear]

I'm pretty sure that's what rhodielady_47 is advocating, too.

[ravenfeather]

This is really good to know. Often only the “typical” pests that A chemical is designed to kill off are listed, but most will act on others. Case in point, I mentioned to another commenter that it sounded like she was talking about Pyrethrum TR in her comment. I have a massive wasp problem, but very little is out there that will control them. I have a handyman who is also a licensed pest control operator and a licensed builder, and it is he who told me what chemical to look up on the internet to kill wasps, and he is the one that clued me in to the fact that often a chemical that works on a certain pest was not designed for that pest, and therefore it is not listed, and to look for a chemical, not a pest. It is good to have knowledgeable friends. It sounds like your pest people are willing to “share”.