CLOSED: Need help with identity

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igarrett08854 Piscataway, NJ Apr 02, 2008

I seem to find them one at a time, usualy in my bed room near the window. 2 have actually made it onto the bed. it seems to be a little less than half an inch. thanks for any help you can give me. I am in central NJ

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ricd Manasquan, NJ Apr 03, 2008

Looks like a bed bug to me. They have become an epidemic. People usually get them from traveling to Europe or staying in hotels or motels. I also believe they might be brought to the US by Mexican immigrants. At one time there were no bed bugs in this country. Recently, they have come with force. Unfortunatly, the only way to get rid of them is by hiring an exterminator. Very expensive but guaranteed.

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igarrett08854 Piscataway, NJ Apr 03, 2008

Bed bugs were my first thought also. but i'm not too sure since the one in the pic is abt 1/2 inch. wouldn't that be VERY big for a bed bug?

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claypa West Pottsgrove, PA(Zone 6b) Apr 03, 2008

It's not a bed bug, it's a stinkbug, in the family Pentatomidae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stink_bug

Bedbugs came to North America with the first European colonists.

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DivineAverage Boonton, NJ Apr 04, 2008

This is definitely a stink bug! Strangely enough, I happened to find and capture one in my house (above my bed) this afternoon. It's pretty large (I put it in a tupperware container that happened to have a marshmallow "Peep" in it -- that's what the stink bug is sitting on) and I took a picture (below). It looks precisely like the picture you have!

Anyhow, after some talk with a friend in etymology (I'm at Penn State), he told me that these little guys are harmless to people. They usually eat fruit, so they're mostly bad for crops. They also tend to come into houses very rarely, but when they do it will be a few of them in early spring and late fall.

It's absolutely not a bed bug, because bed bugs are nearly impossible to see that easily because they're tiny like fleas. That bad boy was probably as confused about being in your bed as you were seeing him there. If you're like me and your windows and vents (stink bug doorways, if you will) are above your bed, that's just the area they're bound to be found.

Anyhow, I hope this helps!

UPDATE :: :: The stupid bug is munching away on the "peep." is this normal?!

This message was edited Apr 4, 2008 6:23 PM

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igarrett08854 Piscataway, NJ Apr 05, 2008

LOL, I think yours is the cousin of the one i found. anyway, thanks guys for the help. now that i know what they are it'll lessen some of the stress i had about it

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