Homemade Bug Juice Anyone?

Yesterday I was being inundated with a zillion or more Stink Bugs. They would get into my hair and in trying to get them out, they would send off their typical odor they use when they are afraid. Needless to say my hair had a bad odor.

So I grabbed a gatorade bottle, filled it partway with water and added a couple of drops of dish soap. Then I just kept walking back and forth on the porch where they were and started collecting them. Some just jumped into the bottle, some were a bit reluctant, and some fought to stay out and needed extra encouragement. Of course some escaped, and some would manage to elude the bottle of death, but would land on the floor where they were promptly squished.

Today for some unknown reason, there are no stink bugs to be found, and I know for sure I didn't get them all. Anyway, here are the results of a couple of hours of encouraging the stink bugs to their demise. (there are literally hundreds in there.)

I may try feeding them to the crows tomorrow!

 

I just read two days ago that these are found in 25 NH towns and spreading. They are looking for winter quarters now.

Just a matter of time before this invasive gets here.

 

Well, I'm not sure if cows would eat them, but maybe if they were spread over their feed. But crows I would think would. They tend to eat everything they can get their beaks on. If they won't eat them, I'm pretty sure the skunks will from what I've read, but I'll give the crows first crack at them. I may just put them in a bowl since they come with their own special sauce!

 

Well, the crows didn't want a thing to do with those stink bugs. They even skirted my property, probably because they stunk so bad. Well, all but one and it only landed on my roof and tromped around up there for a bit, and then left.

So I added some more of those bugs to the collection as well as some yellow jackets that were bothering the hummingbird feeders. Of course they had to be encouraged to enter the bottle of death, but I didn't mind. I even had a hummingbird stop by and pause for a few moments not more than a yard from me while I was stuffing a yellow jacket in the bottle almost as though he were saying thanks!

I put the bugs in a bowl as I said I would and set it out, though I did strain off some of the juice leaving enough to keep the bugs from drying out yet leaving their carcasses nice and crunchy. So I guess it's up to the skunks of possibly the raccoon I've been seeing overnight.

Pardon my mess, but I am in the throws of construction among other things, but here is a shot from one of my cameras. I just took a picture with my regular camera while I had that moment the hummer stopped by frozen on the screen. (pictures or it didn't happen right?) I circled him in red.

 

I really love those little hummers! I will miss them when they have all left for the season. They are leaving but I have a bunch of new ones passing through every day. The one in the picture is a young male and hardly has his beard yet. Just a 5 o'clock shadow.

 

I can't say I know all that much about them other than to keep the feeders clean and to keep plenty of sugar water handy. Any more during the summer months I have to make it by the gallon (4 parts water to 1 part sugar) Starting the first of September, I switch out the ratio to 3 parts water to 1 part sugar and stay with that until they are completely gone. That means waiting a good two weeks before removing the feeders after I've seen the last one. There always seems to be a straggler or two. So far, I have yet to have any that overwinter here, but there is always that possibility. The higher concentration of sugar water will also help keep it from freezing.

I do love to watch them towards the end of the day. They are still chasing each other around while hitting the feeders. I position myself at part of the deck railing (which I tend to lean over since it makes my back feel better) which gives me an optimal view point of two of the busiest feeders since I know the favored roosts especially when a sentinel is on duty. I call him that because he always chases others away, and only after a few good chases does he allow the hummers he was chasing to feed from "his" feeder. I also find that during those chases I often have to duck or scoot back out of the way lest I find a beak in my cheek, or parts of my skull.

I have found they can be talked to. Not in a normal tone of voice, but softly, almost a whisper. But they don't seem to care for the letter "s". They will come close on their own, but do keep your movements to a minimum or at least slow or they might take them as a threatening gesture. I've had them come within inches of my face and hover there while I talked to them.

I have noticed a lot of the same ones come back year after year, and often new ones to boot. If you set out a single feeder, they will come. Soon you will have to add more, and more, and still more. For next season, I plan on having 9 or 10 feeders placed around the property.

This year, the maximum I was able to count at one time was 37, and during migration it's really hard to count since there are so many.

On a final note, if you (or others) decide to start feeding the hummingbirds. ONLY use white table sugar and water. The premixes I suppose are okay but I won't use them. I tend to put the water and sugar together, then bring the mix to a boil. Then let it boil for a minute or two, and then let it cool. I'll transfer it to a gallon container and use that to fill the feeders when it's time. Otherwise I keep it refrigerated. Try not to make any more than your hummers can eat in a week, two weeks at the outside. Also monitor the feeder(s) regularly. If the sugar water turns cloudy, it will need to be changed.

Back on topic, not a single skunk, possum, or raccoon touched the delectable bowl of stink bugs laced with yellow jackets. (gag) As a matter of fact, I didn't see a single animal on the property overnight which is highly unusual. I wonder if that might be a repellent of sorts! The smell is actually quite putrid! I'll leave the Bowl of Bugs out for another day or two, just to be sure.

 

Well, the crows decided to eat the bowl of delectable extra fermented bugs. I guess they like aged bugs as much as we like properly aged meat. 6 crows gathered at around 9:30am for brunch! They finished at about 9:55am. then of course to thank me for their meal, they went ahead and pooped all over the the hood of my truck. Boy, that's a show of gratitude! That's okay, I'm sure the rains will take care of it.

Later on this afternoon, I took the rest of my collection of bugs and refilled the bowl. An hour later I noted one crow at the bowl, and it consumed all of those bugs. It was a nice mix of stink bugs, more yellow jackets, a moth, and a grasshopper. All caught using the cup and stuff method! (cup your hand over the intended victim while keeping the mouth of the bottle underneath where the bug can go. If it doesn't cooperate, just stuff it in) And actually, I have stuffed more yellow jackets into that bottle of death than I caught in the entire time I had the various yellow jacket traps out.

The stinkbug population seems to have dropped to near nothing at my place. I only managed to catch about another 10 this evening. (and two more yellow jackets) And so my newfound hobby of collecting bugs is coming to a fast close!

 

If you lived closer, I'd be happy to.

At one time I used to be afraid if them, be it one or a thousand! Now, I'm like, ehh ..........DIE! No fear, just hate! And I do hate the things!

 

Well, not just say "DIE!" But I do actively seek them out and plan how I will kill them. Not just a few but the entire nest regardless of the size. Last year I had quite a few nests that I took out. Sometimes under the cover of darkness, and other times in broad daylight. Some were subterranean, one was under the front steps, and some were hangers like yours. The hangers I'd bag and foam. (place a large trash bag over the entire nest while trying not to disturb it, and once broken free from where it was secured with a putty knife, I'd close up the end and use a foam type bee spray and empty the can into the bag. Then tie the end securely and toss it in the trash. )

Destroying the nest at night is preferable since most are inside the nest. Watch for the sentinel. Sometimes there are several at the opening of the nest or around the opening. At night, use a red light or red filter over the end of a flashlight since they can't see red. My weapons of choice are a small amount of gasoline, or the Raid Wasp and Hornet spray, or the Black Flag wasp spray. The black flag is the foam.

The gas is for the subterranean yellow jackets. A quarter to half a cup in a soda bottle works well. Just insert the end into their entrance so the gas drains from the bottle, secure and walk away. The fumes will kill them in a few minutes. For kicks, you could hang around and listen. Heck, you may even feel the ground vibrate. But once they start to succumb you'll notice the buzzing will die way down and within a few minutes it will stop.