Stink Bugs and Serpents

Most nations, including the U.S., have strict rules about bringing animals and fruit into the country. You don't want a foreign pest taking over and upsetting the ecosystem.

Invasive species.

Asian tiger mosquitoes. Chinese mitten crabs. Asian emerald ash borers. Northern snakeheads. Mexican fruit flies. Asian reticulated pythons.

All these creatures have come from overseas and invaded the United States, causing extensive damage to our landscape, vegetation and wildlife. The Chinese mitten crab cruised over on a ship, disembarked and started eroding our riverbanks with its relentless burrowing. Another stowaway on cargo ships is the Asian emerald ash borer, which attacks our native ash trees. The northern snakehead fish was brought into the United States by a man wanting the creature for medicinal purposes. He tossed it into a Maryland pond, and it began to feast on the native fish of the Chesapeake Bay region.

Invasive species are dangerous because they have no natural enemies in our country, no native predators to control their growth.

These species stink. Especially the latest arrival, the brown marmorated stink bug. According to The Washington Post...