Insects Waking Up Now In FL: Kudzu Bugs, Needle Ants, Jumping Spiders

FLORIDA — A dry, warm spring in Florida has given rise to wildfires and insects crawling out of the nooks and crannies in your home, ready to spawn a new generation.

Most of these six- or eight-legged creatures are beneficial — many crops need bees to pollinate them. Others are maddeningly annoying but otherwise harmless. Some others pose a genuine threat to fruits and vegetables and need to be dealt with before they cause harm.

Here are some bugs to know and what to do about them:

Become A Backyard Stink Bug Warrior

The brown marmorated stink bugs that snuck into your house last fall are preparing to leave and replenish their species. It’s tempting to let these jerks leave just as stealthily. (Stink bugs can rightly be called jerks because, once outside, they’re free to satisfy their voracious appetites by chewing through fruit groves and ornamental plants.)

In Florida the bugs are deemed a nuisance so far, while other states along the East Coast have seen vegetable crops attacked by several different stink bug species. The primary pest species include the brown marmorated stink bug, brown stink bug, green stink bug, and harlequin bug, according to university researchers.

If you see them in your house at this time of year, be careful. Be very careful. Vacuum them up or sweep them right out the door if you have to, but do so as surreptitiously as possible because, when frightened, stink bugs emit a smell that will frighten you.

If you do vacuum stink bugs, be sure to replace the bag immediately. If you have a bagless model, rinse the dust canister with vinegar.

Capturing them in commercially available traps is one option, but there also are several environmentally sound ways to tell them to bug out.

The Farmers’ Almanac points out that garlic repels stink bugs. They also don’t like mint — crush some dried mint around where you see them congregate; but mint is invasive, so be careful about where you plant it. Sunflowers and marigolds attract beneficial insects that enjoy a buffet of stink bug eggs and larva. Sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth under and on leaves of all fruits and vegetables resting on the ground. Or just make an anti-stink-bug potion with mild, soapy water made from dish dishwashing liquid, and spray it directly on the bugs.

Another Stinker That’s Full Of Beans

The kudzu bug, a relative of the brown marmorated stink bug, has found a veritable feast in soybean, peanut and other legume crops mainly in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. It’s good that they chew through invasive kudzu — the “vine that ate the South” — but these bugs also kill food crops.

According to researchers, the kudzu bug has made it to nearly half of Florida, covering the northern part of the state, reaching as far south as Hillsborough and Polk counties.

It has quickly become established as a severe economic pest of soybean in the neighboring states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama. The kudzu bug is a nuisance pest to homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts during early spring and the fall. Kudzu bugs are inactive during the winter months and seek places to hibernate in the fall, according to Florida Pest Control. The pests will congregate in gaps under the bark of trees, gaps under the siding of homes, and higher elevations, such as the fascia boards and gutters on the edges of homes.

While kudzu bugs do not bite, when they are crushed they expel a potent odor similar to the brown marmorated stink bug.

The bottom line: Rid your house of kudzu bugs the same way you would any stink bug — very carefully. A “true bug,” the kudzu is about the size of a ladybug, but dark-colored. Because they’re relatively new to the United States, researchers don’t know the full extent of plant hosts, including your garden plants.

Synthetic chemical pesticides are the most effective kudzu bug control measures. Organic controls are more difficult. You can try to brush feeding kudzus into pails of soapy water. Squishing them works, too, but be sure to wear gloves, and hold your nose.

Let It Bee

On the friendlier side of the insect world, queen bees will be looking for a quick meal in your flowers. They’re important pollinators. In fact, bees pollinate 75 percent of the food consumed by humans worldwide, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Honeybees are in trouble. Their populations are declining around the world, and it’s up to us to do something about it. When you’re planting your garden or landscaping this year, lean into plants that encourage bees.

Here’s a fun fact: Bees see color and love yellow, purple, blue and white flowers, making echinacea, snapdragon, hostas and wildflowers excellent garden choices, according to Country Living, which has a list of 20 flowering plants bees love.

At least 28 states have enacted laws to save pollinators, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but Florida is not one of them. The laws generally fall into five categories: research, pesticides, habitat protection, beekeeping and public awareness.

Florida is home to over 300 species of bees that help pollinate agricultural commodities and support overall ecosystem health. The pollinator of main concern, and the one that best represents the issues of all pollinators in the state, is the honey bee, said the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

In Florida, commodity crops like blueberries, watermelons, cucumbers and onions would produce little to no fruit if it were not for the honey bee.

Promoting bee health and protecting crops are both important to the success of Florida agriculture. As such, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has identified practices that growers, beekeepers and pesticide applicators can adopt to protect both crops and honey bee colonies.

Potential stressors that can harm honey bees include: pressure from monoculture agriculture, risk of pesticide exposure, pests and parasites, forage, nutrition (both in feed and natural availability) and management.

FDACS, the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and stakeholder groups have been working to promote the importance of bees, their health and their services to the state of Florida.

The bottom line: Unless they’re causing damage with nests built on chimneys or in wall cavities, or if someone in your household is highly allergic to bees, let bees be bees.

In cases where they do have to go, don’t kill them. Call a professional extermination company with the clothing and equipment to remove and relocate the bees without irritating them.

‘Parachuting Spiders’ May Drop In

The 3-inch Joro spider that dropped into sight in Georgia in 2013 is a genuine cult hero in the insect world. And why not? They’re huge, jumping spiders with a unique ability to “parachute” to new locations by using their webs to “ride the wind” to other locations, including Florida.

Related: 'Parachuting' Spiders, Needle Ants, Stink Bugs Could Invade FL

Spiders are good little (if little can be used to describe such a giant of its species) critters. Superb predators, arachnids are a biological weapon against other insects and pests around the house, yard, garden and crops.

The bottom line: Learn to live with Joro spiders. They’re not doing any harm and may even serve as a tasty meal for birds, says Andy Davis, one of the authors of the study predicting their spread up the East Coast and a research scientist at the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology. They do no harm and may even serve as a food source for birds.

“The way I see it, there’s no point in excess cruelty, when it’s not needed,” said study co-author Benjamin Frick, an undergrad, “You have people with saltwater guns shooting them out of the trees and things like that, and that’s really just unnecessary.”

You Had Us At ‘Needle’

Let’s talk about the Asian needle ant, though. It probably won’t kill you if you’re stung by one of these insects, recently found in Evansville, Indiana.

In rare instances, the ant’s venom can be lethal to people who have reactions to insect bites and stings. For the most part, though, the most severe reaction from a sting is a feeling of “pins and needles” that can persist for a couple of weeks.

Though established and well-traveled in the South since the 1930s, it’s never made it this far north. Members of this species of ant have also taken up residence in Kentucky.

The Asian needle ant typically lives in wooded areas but also crawls inside homes when temperatures chill. Ants are pretty good characters overall. But Asian needle ants infest residential, commercial and school kitchens and pilfer food, increasing the likelihood you’ll be stung with the venom, according to North Carolina State University Extension Service.