Those Bugs are Fowl......Food

I was horrified to read Dale's article about Asian Stink Bugs. I am not positive, but I don't think that they have infiltrated Utah......yet. It sounds like that a stinkbug invasion is inevitable though so I thought it best to prepare. I have been doing some research on how to get rid of them and Dale's experience seems to indicate that they are very hard to control. I did find one method that might reduce the amount of stink bugs in a home garden. I wanted to mention it and see if anyone can confirm that it is a viable method.

It has come to my attention that Guinea Fowl are willing to eat and seek out stink bugs. Guinea Fowl are becoming a popular animal to have on small and large farms for a variety of reasons. They are a good meat producing bird and their meat is considered a delicacy in many countries. They also lay eggs which can be harvested. In addition to their food production, guinea fowl have gained a reputation as farm watchdogs. They alert farm owners quickly of any large predators that are threatening them and other animals on the farm. They also alert owners when new people show up, with the ability to distinguish between strangers and family members.

Perhaps the biggest feature of guinea fowl that has made them popular in the recent past is their ability to eradicate pests. Guinea fowl eat most insects. They are also known to eat mice, rats, and snakes, while at the same time leaving garden greens and vegetables alone. Most importantly, I have seen on a few Guinea Fowl message boards that they do a good job at getting rid of stink bugs as well. Can any of you vouch for this?

It seems that there are a lot of good reasons to have a few guinea fowl in any backyard farm, but if they actually do eliminate stink bugs, I might have to get some to prepare for the coming invasion.

Mike