# stink bug care.



## miserykills (Mar 18, 2015)

I have a problem with stink bugs in/around my house. It's a bit too cold in New York still for me to feel comfortable letting them go outside. Can I keep them alive on cricket food and the "water" crystal things? I have an empty kritter keeper type thing and i want to keep them in there until they die or it gets warmer. What temperature can they survive at? Today it was 32°F during the day and 29°F at night. I know to most people the obvious answer would be to kill it but i feel on here of all places i might find someone with a similar opinion as me. Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions.


----------



## 14pokies (Mar 19, 2015)

I had a buddy that kept a few. He fed his cantaloupe and Honeydew's... They got all there water needs from the melons.. His place was in the 70s he housed them on a piece of eggcrate and misted the enclosure once or twice a week... 

I have no clue how well they did like this long term we only hung out a few times over the summer...


----------



## miserykills (Mar 19, 2015)

14pokies said:


> I had a buddy that kept a few. He fed his cantaloupe and Honeydew's... They got all there water needs from the melons.. His place was in the 70s he housed them on a piece of eggcrate and misted the enclosure once or twice a week...
> 
> I have no clue how well they did like this long term we only hung out a few times over the summer...


 Thanks dude. Conveniently I have tons of those melons as they are my favorite fruits. And the one i found in my room is living on eggcrate at the moment. So I'll throw some melon in tomorrow and it should be fine.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## HungryGhost (Mar 19, 2015)

I find the best way to care for them is to flush them down the toilet. The stink bugs in and around your house are known as Brown Marmorated stink bugs. They are an invasive agricultural pest native to Asia. In less then ten years of being recorded, their numbers have skyrocketed.


----------



## DVMT (Mar 19, 2015)

Yeah, why on earth would you want to keep those things alive?


----------



## miserykills (Mar 19, 2015)

I'm not going to end the existence of the species by flushing one stinkbug down the toilet. If I could, I would but there's no way I could make a difference with that. I don't like to kill bugs seeing as a lot of my time is spent taking care of the ones I paid for.


----------



## HungryGhost (Mar 19, 2015)

miserykills said:


> I'm not going to end the existence of the species by flushing one stinkbug down the toilet. If I could, I would but there's no way I could make a difference with that. I don't like to kill bugs seeing as a lot of my time is spent taking care of the ones I paid for.


To each their own. Would you behave the same way if your home was infested with German cockroaches?

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## DVMT (Mar 19, 2015)

miserykills said:


> I'm not going to end the existence of the species by flushing one stinkbug down the toilet. If I could, I would but there's no way I could make a difference with that.



Gotta start somewhere!!! Yuck yuck!!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Ripa (Mar 21, 2015)

Props to you OP! I would resort to the same ideology you do. I honestly don't see an issue with these particular stinkbugs besides them just being.... there. Sure they're considered agricultural pests, but what else are they- do they harm the environment to the extent that feral pigs or feral cats do?  I find it difficult to kill even American cockroaches at this point in time. Over the years, my interest in arthropodolgy has grown (not simply just with pet-keeping), and with it, my compassion for a lot of these critters.

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## Tenodera (Mar 23, 2015)

First step is finding out if they are in fact brown marmorated stink bugs; we have several species of stink bug throughout the U.S. and some other perfectly native brown ones.
They can be fed with live herbaceous plants as well as fruit, and some are even carnivorous.

Just on a personal note, I don't like doing it, but I kill the brownbanded roaches and phorid flies relentlessly at the Insect Zoo. In that case, it's a matter of our insects' health and the zoo's image, as well as not wanting to spread the roaches when we take animals to other locations. I've never been one to smash all the Japanese beetles I see when I'm walking outside, though.


----------

