Sean McGinley (semcginley@ursinus.edu)
If you live in New Hall, perhaps you have experienced or heard about the recent stink bug problem. The bugs have now been identified officially by Ehrlich Pest Control, a pest control company called in by Ursinus, as Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs. These bugs are found commonly throughout Pennsylvania, although they originate from Asia, specifically in countries like China and Japan. The autumn months are the specific time of year to watch out for them invading your home and residence halls as they prepare to find shelter to escape the oncoming winter cold. It is a problem that stems back to at least earlier this October, according to junior (and Grizzly Editor-in-Chief!) Layla Halterman.
“I first started noticing the bugs on Sunday, October 3rd very late in the evening and they kept entering through my roommate’s window,” Halterman said. According to Halterman, Facilities emailed her the morning after she made the report and later came to her dorm to set out traps to solve the problem, but the traps were ineffective. After what she describes as “playing the role of exterminator” on her own for a while, Halterman explained that she emailed Facilities again and requested an alternate solution to the traps. The bugs bugged her a lot.
Other students in New Hall felt more apathetic about the situation overall. When asked about it, sophomore Tyler Ways said, “There were a bunch earlier that got into the windows, between the glass and the screens, but they mostly stopped a few weeks ago.” Ways indicated that the stink bug problem was temporary and did not have too profound of an effect on his living space.
According to Philly Voice, stink bugs are likely to enter a living space through small openings in windows, pipes, doors, or other hard-to-reach areas. Sealing or caulking off of these openings is therefore seen as the primary way to stop a stink bug infestation problem. While killing these insects with bug spray can also work, it is important that homeowners vacuum the dead stink bugs up after the spray is applied. This is because badly-odored pheromones still emanate from stink bugs, dead or alive.
When Halterman was asked if her stink bug problem was fixed, she said, “It seems so – at least for now. On October 13th, Ehrlich conducted the bug identification process, and sprayed a killing solution on the windows. Facilities taped the windows shut, too. I haven’t encountered any since then and hope to never again.”
While her case was resolved. Halterman felt that the school’s Facilities Services did not take strong enough initial steps to sort out the issue in her living space. “I highly suggest taking a more aggressive approach the first time around. Traps shouldn’t have even been a conversation. The problem should have been tackled head-on by an exterminator after my first complaint. Problems like these cannot be dismissed with temporary solutions.”
Facilities stated that traps are just one of the methods used in the event of an infestation. “Spraying the infected area or the perimeter of the room is another way, but this requires the student to leave the room during treatments,” said Director of Facilities Services Stephen Gehringer. Additionally, it was made clear that while members of the Facilities staff are trained to eliminate all types of pests, any infestation will unfortunately last a few days until the treatment methods used become effective.
If you have experienced a bug infestation or something similar, please contact the college’s Facilities services at the phone number 610-409-3598 or the email facilities@ursinus.edu.