Bugs found in Warren, Montgomery counties

Published 11:30 am Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A kudzu bug invasion confirmed in Warren and Montgomery counties could pose a problem for soybean farmers and homeowners with sharp senses of smell.

The small, brown insects were discovered for the first time in the state in the past week, a release from the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce said.

Locally, they were discovered during a soybean rust trial experiment that involved kudzu by a plant pathologist, said Dr. Angus Catchot, an entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

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The precise population is unknown, but the agency’s Bureau of Plant Industry plans to survey the state to gauge the size of the infestation.

“There were quite a few of them,” Catchot said. “In all stages of life. They probably hitchhiked on vehicles last fall.”

Catchot said the two counties where they’ve been found are where major thoroughfares meet, Interstate 20 and U.S. 61 in Vicksburg and U.S. 82 and Interstate 55 in Winona.

“I personally found the one in Montgomery, at a truck stop in Winona,” Catchot said. “They get here on people’s vehicles.”

Native to Asia, the bug is closely related to the traditional stink bug and was first found in the U.S. in Georgia in 2009. Since then, the pests have spread to the Carolinas, Alabama, Florida and Virginia — going long distances on cars, trucks and equipment, the release said.

Kudzu bugs feed on the main stems of legumes such as soybeans, peas and peanuts — sucking the juices of the plants. In 2010, soybean yields in Georgia were reduced 11 to 23 percent and kudzu growth in test plots diminished by a third, farm reports said. The state is using research on the bugs’ effects in Georgia and South Carolina as a guide, and safely registered insecticides can control the pests, Catchot said.

In Georgia and North Carolina, residents have reported that the bugs’ stinking excrement has raised welts on humans. They reportedly congregate on light-colored buildings and have been known to eat caulk from around windows.

No reports of the insects have come in from Warren County farmers, extension agent Wesley Purvis said.

“It can sure be a pest to soybeans, though,” Purvis said.

Doug Jeter, who farms about 2,400 acres of leafy soybeans on Chickasaw Road in the county, is on guard against six-legged scourges of all types. But, he’s yet to see the state’s newest threat to his beans.

“We check the soybeans weekly, we spray for things like stink bugs, loopers, things like that. But right now, we haven’t seen any.”

The kudzu bug can become a nuisance to homeowners, given a tendency to invade homes in large numbers and emit a foul odor.

“It’s a nuisance animal, just like ladybugs,” Catchot said.

Insects found in Mississippi have been kept and identified for cataloging purposes, Catchot said.