ARKANSAS, USA — In your garden or in your home, you may already be seeing more bugs starting to emerge for the spring, and some of those are what entomologists call "introduced invasive species."
Dr. Austin Jones, instructor of entomology at the University of Arkansas, says out of the many types of introduced invasives in Arkansas, there are a few key species people in 5COUNTRY may be seeing more of right now.
“Introduced invasive species are species that have come from other parts of the world and been introduced to the United States or, in specific to our region, Northwest Arkansas.
A lot of people consider those interchangeable terms— 'introduced' and 'invasive', but sometimes species can be introduced from another country and they aren't considered invasive,” Jones added. “Invasive is kind of synonymous with pest; it's something you don't want there.”
Here’s what he had to say about some invasive species in 5COUNTRY:
“The brown marmorated stink bug is one that gets a lot of attention. They come into people's homes over winter. They're waking up this time of year, and you're finding them in window sills and garages and places like that,” Jones said.
“One of the other ones that you'll see waking up this spring is Japanese beetles. It's a small green beetle and they'll eat just about anything in the garden,” Jones said
Stink bugs and Japanese beetles are harmless to people, but they like to eat plants and can do some damage to your garden. Jones says he doesn’t suggest heavily spraying your home.
"They're packed into cracks and crevices of your home that you may not necessarily see, and if you spray to kill them, then you're going to have a bunch of dead bugs in those areas and then other little beetles come along and eat dead bugs,” Jones explained.
He does suggest some alternative methods for getting rid of the critters.
“You can vacuum them up, you can get a pan of soapy water and drop them into that if you want, you can use the good old fashioned smash technique. And of course, if you're one of those live-and-let-live types, there's nothing wrong with just letting it loose outside if it's bothering you inside,” Jones said.
Another pest that’s not quite as harmless is the red imported fire ants.
“I would say they’re one of the more prevalent and dangerous of the introduced invasive species,” Jones said.
While you'll see more of them all across the area this time of year, Jones says they're most prevalent in southern parts of 5COUNTRY.
If you see these ants that bite and sting at the same time, Jones says his best advice is to steer clear.
“If you get into them, get them off before they send the signal to all attack you at once. Also, if they're on you, try not to smash one, because if you smash one, you're releasing the chemical that signals the rest of them to attack,” Jones said.
When it comes to preventing fire ants, or any type of pest, there are different treatment options.
“Check out your county extension agent or the extension website, there are going to be lots of handouts on how homeowners can treat and prevent all these different things everywhere from cultural control, like digging up nests, into chemical controls, like what products are recommended,” Jones said.
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