You’re probably having the initial reaction that I did, “Why would I want to control kudzu bugs? Just have at it!”
But kudzu bugs (Megacopta cribraria) also attack other legumes. Especially soybeans, wisteria, and hyacinth beans (Lablab pupureus). The idea of something that successfully retards the growth of kudzu having a picnic on my soybeans is not appealing.
It’s possible they will move on to other plant species as well. Last week I found swarms of them on my sage buddleia (Buddleia salviifolia) and am unsure if they were feeding or just attracted to rest in the pale leaves.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
If you haven’t heard that kudzu has natural pests until now, you’re correct. I first noticed these guys clustered all over the straw bales and outdoor walls at a local garden center last season and knew that they were something I hadn’t seen before. Turns out they’re an invasive exotic that was first discovered in Georgia in 2009.
They’ve quickly spread all over Georgia, South Carolina, and into most of North Carolina. It’s probably fair to assume they’ll move into the same areas that kudzu is able to inhabit.
In addition to legumes, they are attracted to light colors when the weather cools because they hibernate in the same manner as Asian lady beetles. It’s common to see them swarming together and landing all over walls, doors, and windows, as shown in this News 11 Atlanta video. People seem to be having a hysterical reaction to their presence, though they are largely benign. Other than looking a bit like boogers and smelling really bad, they’re harmless if you aren’t a plant.
When attacking plants, they tend to cluster like this (at the time this post was written this photo was mislabeled as tortoise beetles). Since they feed on plant juices through sucking mouthparts like we drink milkshakes with a straw, it can look like they are simply resting. Visible plant damage includes curling leaves or discolored spotting.
Kudzu bugs are so new to our area that the ideal method of control isn’t known yet. If management is necessary, use the same methods as for squash bugs, harlequin bugs, or Japanese beetles. Knocking them into buckets of soapy water on a repeated basis is probably the best solution.
If you are experiencing kudzu bug hibernation inside your home, try turning your vacuum on them. (Beware that this will probably make your vacuum bag smell like stink bugs — you may want to use a shop vac that is stored in the garage).
NC State University has a good fact sheet on kudzu bugs that may help.
I encourage readers to leave tried and tested solutions in the comment section. Especially if you know of natural kudzu bug predators that can be encouraged to move into the garden.
When will we learn about bringing something ‘new’ in to correct a problem?
Janet, The Queen of Seaford´s last [type] ..Come Walk With Me
Twitter: appalachianfeet
I can’t find anything that says it was on purpose this time. I hope not, since it seems obvious this is a bug with multiple tastes in food.
Now this is a plant that needs a natural pest! The way the weather has been up here, I am expecting kudzu to crawl up our way. Just kidding, but who know? One invasive leads to another unfortunately, since nature seems to have the rapidity of growth well covered. I hope it can be learned how to control the bugs so legume crops are not affected.
Donna´s last [type] ..W4W Tracery in the Landscape
Twitter: appalachianfeet
Some of the photos I’ve seen of soybeans and even pole snap beans is making me feel very concerned. Maybe their numbers will slacken a bit after they’ve integrated into the ecosystem a bit more.
We don’t have them here…as of yet, but it sounds like it will be similar to controlling squash bugs.
The Sage Butterfly´s last [type] ..Contemplate the Garden
I’ve never seen these bugs in my garden, but I have seen squash bugs, and there was an elusive Japanese beetle in my strawberry patch last year. I’m fortunate to have a husband who is not squeamish around bugs (like I am) and he has no problem squishing the bad bugs with his bare hands, LOL! Hope you don’t have too many problems with the bugs this year.
I never heard of this bug, but since we do have a kudzu problem I will be on the lookout. I will remember your description that they look like boogers!
debsgarden´s last [type] ..Echoes that Linger
I have had some success using Windex Exterior Window and House Cleaner. It has a pretty good reach so i can spray up on the eaves and they seem to dislike the cleaning agent in the product. Before using the product, they would tend to sleep overnight on the light colored eaves of my house. After using it, they just seem to swarm in the late afternoon then go elsewhere to sleep for the night. I really don’t want to spray my house with an Insecticide, so looking for any other suggestions you guys might have. Perhaps diluted White Vinegar? Diluted Bleach or Ammonia? There must be something that deters if not kills these little nuisance bugs. At this point, I’m unable to enjoy my back porch in the afternoon due to all the Kudzu Bugs just swarming around.
This bug is eating my Westeria. in Peach County GA Byron, Ga.
I found millions of them on my wisteria. I tried spraying with liquid sevin and that just got them all riled up and all over me. Inman, SC
These bugs are all over the exterior of my home…in swarms. I’m talking hundreds! I sprayed with ortho home defense inside and outside and have had no results. I’ve only found 2 in my house. I have no idea what to do outside. They are on my porch and door! I have ben infested. I’m in moncks corner, sc.
[...] soybeans and bean crops as well as kudzu, which gave the bugs the name Bean Plataspid. They also invade homes and smell really bad, which is why they are also called Globular Stink bugs. Photograph by Flickr user Charles [...]
They were all over my wisteria vine. I tried organic soap and that didn’t work. Malathion killed them. Then we had a frost which killed the shoots. There are now new leaves coming out and here they are again. Every morning and afternoon I squirt them w/ a squirt bottle of Malathion and I sweep their little nasty bodies off my deck. UGH. I’m in Brevard NC in city.
Last year I didn’t even know what Kudzu bugs were, this year they are all over our Wisteria, Figs and the rare and beautiful native tree – American Yellowwood (Cladastris kentuckea) – applications of systemic insecticides have killed the ones present at the time, but millions come and replace them. We are miles from any kudzu or soy bean fields, but they find their way here anyway. I’m very concerned for the Yellowwood Tree – it is a very rare native trees in the legume family found only in very isolated locations in the southern Appalachians and Cuberland Plateau. They are seriously affecting the tree’s growth this year and could make this species extinct if they spread throughout its range!
These Kudzu bugs have migrated from our wisteria to a near by peach tree.
Feeding vigorously on Crepe Myrtles in my North Myrtle Beach, SC yard.
Dawn dish detergent and water in a spray bottle kills them, I do rinse my plants after about an hour, they still keep coming by the thousands. However, I really want my green beans!! awful things!! The soapy water drops them dead in about a Minuit, every day there are new ones… I just keep spraying ….
Murrells Inlet, SC:
First started feeding on our fig tree, tried spraying with neem oil to no avail. Now more have appeared on our pole beans. Manual removal methods seem limited at best and last for 1-3 days. Was hoping our chickens or anole lizards would like them, but doesn’t look like it so far…
My first year growing green beans (bush & pole) and just as they began to produce, I began seeing these Kudzu bugs on the vines – didn’t know what they were at the time – never seen the like. Now, within two weeks my poor beans are covered in hundreds of them – nothing organic I on hand worked (garlic mix, Neem, insecticidal soap)- tried just crushing them, but even more showed up. Beans are showing signs of stress and loosing leaves – so sad, I was looking forward to having a bumper crop – now I’m not sure. Live in Middle GA.
Noticed them for the first time on June 1 in Columbia, SC clustered on the new emerging blooms of my beautiful magnolia trees. Will they harm the magnolias? If so, any suggestions on what to do?
I have them all over my pole beans. Dawn dish soap works somewhat but they keep returning in droves. Has anyone else found a way to get rid of them?