This sounds definitely worth a try, Janie.

Janie, bless your pea pickin heart.
I will plant some for sure on my bad neighbors side, lol
If they are in there and loving it that would make it easier to get the nolo to them
When this works, I'm taking you to lunch...I promise
jolana

Aren't stink bugs the one with the long snout that they stick into each and every tomato? Why would they like millet? Or do I have the wrong bug in mind? I REALLY want to know how this works!

Here's a pic. of some.

Here is a link that might be useful: stink bugs

Yes, that is them, they will ruin the tomatoes. But they really are dizzy for millet- lots of bugs are.

PPB, I think you are thinking of the leaf-footed hopper, and it is also a kind of stink bug. It also loves the millet.

I'm gonna plant mine as soon as this 6" of rain drains off.

Janie

I've heard that leaf-foot also like asparagus beans.

~james

It's easy to confuse the soldier bug for the stink bug. I thought I had a whole bunch of stink bugs that weren't hungry on my tomatoes. That just couldn't be possible so I looked them up. I had my tomatoes in the middle of a patch of organic,mostly native plants. The local soldier bugs loved living there. They'd raise a family in the native plants and CHOW on the bugs that ate tomatoes. I had more organic tomatoes off one plant than we could eat! My yield (ignoring the horn worms mind you) was 80%. My strawberries in pots nearby 80% as well. Nothing touched my eggplant,peppers or bell peppers.PJ

Here is a link that might be useful: beneficial bug similar to stink bug

There are more than one kind of stink bugs, some of which are plant attackers and some of which are predators.

If you want to plant millet to act as a trap crop, fine, but don't then spray with insecticide. Why not let the birds that are attracted to the millet get the bugs while they're at it. Think about it. If you spray the millet with pesticides, you're in effect spraying the birds with pesticide. I really thought you were going that direction, that the millet would attract both the stink bugs and the birds, and you'd be taking care of the feeding the birds while you were controlling the pests. Now that sounds like a good idea to me. By the way, Millet seed can be bought by itself, and it actually makes an attractive ornamental grass. You can get purple millet, which is very pretty.

Sally

Something that I haven't seen mentioned but thought I might bring up......won't the millet re-seed everywhere?? It sure does under my feeders.

Kristi

Actually, someone asked that question, and the answer was no, it doesn't reseed all over the place. I don't know why, but probably for the same reason that I can't count on some daturas to reseed. They just don't. LOL

This guy is a commercial grower with organic crops. Insecticide is my idea, I am not above killing stink bugs with a shot of something, as long as they are not on my vegetables when I spray them. If the birds will take care of them, fine. I am all for that. But my objective is to be rid of stink bugs that damage everything on the place.

The rule is to use the least destructive method first. Birds are the best, we will try that first. Then we will see.

Janie

I found that surround works the best on veggies. I was at an organic club meeting a while back and there was an organic peach guy there and he uses surround in his orchard.

Gosh, I wonder if I've mistaken a good bug for a bad bug in the past. Not that it matters, since I never kill anything. I *did* put some tomato hornworms out on a bale of hay for the birdies to snap up, but it wasn't *my* fault they got eaten!

Bug experts, are the soldier bugs quite a bit larger and barkier looking than the stink bugs? I think I've seen them and they were sort of scary looking.

They tend to hang out with more space in between. They aren't as social. Their shoulders are pointier and rougher looking. I'm not a hundred percent sure of who's who when I'm looking tho. They are ugly! PJ

What about those awful Leaf-footed bugs? Those are the ones that get my tomatoes. Will this method work on those?

Sally

Yes.

I always lump them in with stink bugs. They do stink when you squash them. YUK!

Janie

This conversation is making me nervous. Or maybe it's the coffee.

Girls, are you hearing me? Give surround a try. I guarantee it.

Has anyone heard of using tobacco juice? I hear all insects hate it.

Last winter we were deluged with stink bugs in our living room (has a dropped ceiling - and they were coming down between the ceiling and the wall) We killed all that were flying around.
Now, they are all over the outside of our house and the neighborhood. they try to get in the house wherever they can, through the garage, roof vents, window screens, etc.
we were on vacation last year at this time, so they must have come in the same ways.(last year was the first time we had this problem and we have been here 27 years)
they are probably setting up in our attic and we will have the same problem, or worse, this winter when we get the wood stove going.
any hints what we can do to get rid of them in the attic?
We live near Pittsburgh, so is this a problem anywhere else?

Anyone want to report back on millet as a trap crop. How did it work out?

I did have a row and 3 pots, and not many stink bugs or leaf footed hoppers in the garden at all. I did not spray the millet, but did allow the birds to have the buffet.

All in all, I think it works! I had wonderful tomatoes this year, and green beans. Now we are looking forward to cabbages, cauliflowers and all that stuff. AND some good tomatoes!

What is surround?

Janie

Last night one of the news stations had a thing about some town that was overrun with them. There were THOUSANDS!! Totally gross!!
Tally HO!

I'm glad to read thru this thread and find that you had success in trying this method. I'm noticing stinkbugs more this year than ever and will definitely give this a try.

Regarding them inside the home: I've never seen them inside my home but in reading up about these stinkers I've detected that home invasion seems to happen in cooler winter climes.

I, too, was curious about "surround" a search produced the following info:

Here is a link that might be useful: Surround Crop Protectant: High-Tech Dust for Pest Control

I had a stinkbug infestation by June last year, they really did a number on my tomatoes. I have purple majesty millet growing this year along with sunflowers which I have also read are a trap crop for stinkbugs. I have no idea whether or not it will help but it wont be long until I will know

Does anyone know where to buy Surround or a similar product locally?

Any ideas for cheap netting to cover tomatoes with? tried panty hose but made tomatoes rot. I saw some met bags that were like 10.99...anything else to bag tomatoes with?

I called several places in San Antonio including Rainbow Gardens, Shades of Green, Fertile Garden Supply and the people who now own Malcolm Beck's Gardenville and none of them have 'Surround' or a similar product. However, it can be ordered from Garden's Alive as mentioned in the link.

Yummy, you probably know this already, but you can use row covers to keep the bugs out. They let in light and air, but keep out insects. I've never used them, but know those who do. Row covers can be purchased at most garden centers and are described on the Garden's Alive website.

Here is a link that might be useful: Row covers

Thanks for the link, DivineOrder. That's good info. I just get the Surround from Gardens Alive. I mix it with Pyola and Soap Shield part of the time also.

Is it too late to plant the millet? That purple majesty is nice looking.

Probably is a little late to plant the millet

Just wondering...are tomatoes with minor stink bug damage still edible? We can't seem to get them under control. We've still been eating the tomatoes, though, and they taste great. Some are too far gone, but most, I'd say, are salvageable. Any reason (other than cosmetic) not to eat them?

I don't think so. I just cut off the bad spots. I have been seeing a lot of them already too this year. I don't know what you would use to cover a tomato to keep them from getting it. I saw a pic on here somewhere of someone covering them but forget what they used for the sack.

I had posted this on how I am keeping them away.These are organza wedding favor bags I got at .99 store, and they work great but are not big. I have had to cut some up to get maters out! I also made some homemade ones of cotton interface....They keep off the nyphs for sure, but I have found some GIANT ones got in my homemade bags. They were either dead or I smashed them. You can also see in bottom pic what I use for tomato ties...cut up old socks!

Here is a link that might be useful: My backyard

Millet works great as a trap crop, but as Duane indicated, it's really too late to start it at this point. What they go nuts over are the seedheads/plumes. Little seedlings you'd have it you started it from seed at this point ain't gonna do it in time.

I do like to actually do something to kill them to take the population down when they are on the millet. :-) A good *strong* soap spray, rinsed off a few minutes after you apply it so it doesn't burn the plants, neem oil, Ortho-bug-be-gon Max, Sevin, etc.

Surround also works fairly well at getting them (and many other insects) to leave plants and any fruit/veg on the plants alone. It does have to be re-applied after heavy rains, tho. It does also provide a sunscreen for plants, which can be nice considering the brutal weather we are having. I get mine from Gardens Alive, but only use it on peppers and cukes, as I grow too many tomato plants to make it practical. Do a google search for "gardens alive coupon" before ordering, don't pay full price.

Anyone getting these @&*@&$) things in the house again this year? Today on my daily stink bug safari through the house, I caught 10 of the ugly buggers in my upstairs bedrooms. I have to say today is a record catch for me...last year they were even in my bedding...imagine my horror when my overnight guest pulled down the covers and there one was in all it's raging glory sitting right on the newly made bed...YUCK!

Well, Vicki, I would be glad it was not a cockroach. LOL

Not being mean, I am just horrified by cockroaches.

I like growing the millet. I put a few pots around the garden, and the birds do a good job of getting rid of the bugs. A row in the garden helps there.

We even had good pecans! The idea is that stink bugs damage the pecan crops to the point that they are not any good, (and we have never had a pecan crop since we have lived here). We have 5 grafted trees in our yard, big trees. They have been covered in nuts in prior years, but we never got pecans. The Extension Agent told me about the stink bugs, thus the millet growing in pots close by. These trees are too big to spray.

Janie