Stink bugs on my hops

[Pghhopgrower]

Notice them towards the en of July but in western pa they come out a little then, and then full force in September and October. I left the state last week and came back to find quite the number on my largest bines. Does anyone know if they'll effect my hop nuggets? which 1/3 are producing and the other are in process of blooming. Do I need to worry?

 

[Kaz]

I've heard rumor that they will chew up the leaves, are you sure they are stink bugs and not squash bugs? The 2 are very very similar when adults. I've started to see traps for them in Lowes, but much like Japanese Beetle traps, they use a pheromone attractant that could, in the long run, attract more stink bugs.

 

[Pghhopgrower]

Yeah after I looked them up they could also be squash bugs or maybe a mix of the two. Yeah, we sell the traps where I work and that's pretty much what they do is attract more. Will the squash bug effect them any differently than the stink bug? Other than just being annoying

 

[SteveM]

We've had stink bugs around here for several years (until this year - they all seem to have disappeared for some reason). I found them often on my hops but they never seemed to bother the cones. It seemed like they were eating the leaves.

Just try not to bring any in with your harvest.