Kudzu Bug Finds in Mississippi Increasing
In 2012 Kudzu bugs were found in four counties in Mississippi on Kudzu. All finds were along major highways suggesting they “hitchhiked” in on vehicles. The counties were Warren, Lauderdale, Montgomery, and Carroll. In the last 2 weeks we have been able to find them in Kudzu patches in Oktibbeha, Itawamba, Union, Newton, and Rankin counties. That brings the total number of counties up to 9 counties for Mississippi. To date none have been found in soybeans but its just a matter of time and I would not be surprised based on recent finds and numbers at some locations that it might be this year. We will continue to monitor Kudzu and Soybeans and will keep you up to date with timely reports and management recommendations when they are first discovered in soybeans. It is highly likely that they are in many more locations that have not been searched yet. If you find any please try and collect a specimen for positive identification and contact your local Extension office.
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Photo by Joe McGown
Adult Kudzu Bug, By T. Allen
I live in GA and these things are everywhere. They stink really bad and are always getting in my hair. I’m planning on planting some vegetables this weekend, but I don’t know if these bugs will eat them or not. I’ve looked online, but all of the sites I found just said to vacuum them up or knock them into a cup of water. Considering that there are hundreds of these things all over my house, neither of these options are very practical. I’ve tried spraying them with bee and wasp killer, but there were so many I couldn’t really tell if it worked or not. Is there any insecticide that is known to kill these things, or at least something I can do to get them to go away?
Email me at acatchot@ext.msstate.edu and I will give you the contact number for your extension entomologists in GA. He has lots of experience with kudzu bugs. Unfortunately I don’t think there will be much you can do about the ones that are causing “annoyance” except try and avoid them. As far as your garden goes, they likely will only be attracted to legumes or bean plants. Other vegetables will likely be fine. There are insecticides that work but keep in mind it takes numerous bugs per plant to cause any problems.
One more thing to keep in mind. Most people who have home gardens are not familiar with the dangers of some of the insecticides. If you choose to use them read labels carefully.
Kudzu bugs are easily killed by common insecticides used in vegetables – Sevin , malathion, permethrin