Stinkbugs in Wisconsin? It’s just a matter of time, Pellitteri says.
If you have friends in the East, you may have heard them grousing about stinkbugs. Specifically, what they’re talking about is the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, an invasive species from Asia that enters into people’s homes in big numbers and is turning into a pretty nasty crop pest as well. The good news is that there have been only a few isolated sighting in Wisconsin. The bad news: It’s just a matter of time—maybe four or five years—before we see these kinds of problems here, says Phil Pellitteri, Extension entomologist. Preventing their spread is difficult as best, because the bugs are good at hitchiking when people or goods travel from the east, Pellitteri says in this podcast recorded with Sevie Kenyon of the CALS external relations office.