The bedbug takes center stage in the media. But with the arrival of fall, certain other insects invade homes. This is the case with Asian bedbugs, known as devilish bedbugs, which seek to overwinter. But be careful, nothing to do with bedbugs.
“They’re everywhere… as soon as you lift an object“! In the car, on the walls of the house… many Internet users are reporting the presence of the so-called evil bug.
Is it dangerous for humans? how to eradicate it? Answers with Jean-Claude Streito, entomologist, specialist in Halyomorpha halys, an Asian bug known as a devilish bugUnreasonable (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment).
Jean Claude Streito • © Jean Claude Streito
Since when has this bug been observed in France?
This bug of Asian origin was found for the first time in France in 2012 in Alsace. Previously, it had been observed in Zurich in a botanical garden. It is believed to have been introduced by pottery from Asia. We followed its expansion thanks to a participatory science application developed by Inrae, AGIIR, application dedicated to introduced insects or invasive species having strong repercussions (or likely to have them) on plant health, public health, or on their prey or their hosts. People send us photos and we can follow her everywhere in France. It is only in the extreme west of Brittany where it has not been reported to us. For example in Tarn, it arrived in 2018.
What is different from other bedbugs?
It doesn’t have much different. It can be recognized by its somewhat hard shell and measures approximately 12-17 mm. In the fall, we usually have species of bugs that enter homes to overwinter, including a green bug (Nezara viridula) and another gray one (Nezara viridula). And over the past ten years, evil bedbugs have been added. These produce aggregation pheromones and when they find a place they like, they arrive in groups and this can be very annoying. There are houses that they prefer, we don’t know why. We don’t know why some houses are invaded, the one next door doesn’t have many, if any. They come out of the house as soon as it gets warm again, without having reproduced.
Is it also found in cars?
This is not surprising, because they look for sheltered places. This species is monitored globally. Some areas are still preserved like Australia. The country sent back several ships containing new cars because there were evil bugs inside the vehicles. This was also the case in New Caledonia.
Do they, like bedbugs, have consequences for humans?
They are harmless to humans, unlike bedbugs, which live in homes all year round and feed on blood. However, they cause damage to fruit trees, apples, pears, kiwis, hazelnuts and vegetables. They will be crooked. There is no danger in eating them, except that they will not taste good.
What do you advise individuals who say they are invaded?
Vacuum them and freeze the vacuum cleaner bag to kill them before disposing of them or empty the contents of the vacuum cleaner into a paper bag before putting it in household waste if they are incinerated. There is no way to treat the source because they come from different places. We can install mosquito nets or crush them except that they do not deprive themselves of using their scent glands and that is not very pleasant!
Are you going to continue monitoring him?
We will undoubtedly stop it soon because the invasion is almost over. We have recorded 5000 reports on the application, half of which concern the evil bug throughout France. There will remain the participatory science application of the National Museum of Natural History, INPN species, which will continue to report it. At INRAE, we will continue to work on it to try to stop the damage observed in agriculture. A biological control program is underway using a small wasp, called the “samurai wasp” which lays in the eggs of the evil bug. It is raised in the Inrae centers in Antibes. It is planned to release it next year. It is hoped that this insect regulates the populations of evil bugs and returns to a lower level.
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