N.J. man says he has invented effective, chemical-free stink bug trap

DELAWARE TOWNSHIP, N.J., Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A New Jersey man says he has devised a trap made from readily available materials and containing no chemicals that catches stink bugs by the thousands.

Jody Williams of Delaware Township told The Hunterdon County Democrat he is applying for a patent on the trap. He has asked anyone who follows his online instructions to respond with comments.

The brown marmorated stink bug, to give the insect its formal name, is a native of Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula that first showed up in the Allentown, Pa., area in the late 1990s. While the bugs do not bite, they consume fruit and vegetables, making them an agricultural pest, and give off a foul odor when threatened.

As the weather turns cold, the bugs tend to head indoors. But Williams said thanks to his trap his own house has been free of stink bugs this year.

"You've seen houses covered with stink bugs," he said. "I'm compelled to share this stuff. My heart goes out to them because I've lived this. Right now, throughout the East Coast, there are homeowners with thousands of stink bugs on their homes."