QUESTION! Is this bug safe for a beardie to eat?

[annlizardlover97]

I live in Burlington NC where the past week since fall is arriving my entire yard & house are inundated with Stink Bugs. I checked on several sites, including the NC Agricultural Dept's and NCSU's Ag site & found that not just I but our whole state right now is in the middle of a major swarm of Stink Bugs. They're triangular, oddly shaped, brown to a dark green color, fly, and smell horrible if u squash one. They're getting into my house thru various cracks, especially round the doors, windows etc and 3 nites ago I killed over 50 of them in an hour. When I pulled back my curtains they'd gotten in & I swear thete were at least 150 of em hiding in the back sides of the drapes. My problem is I have 10 lizards, 7 beardies & 3 Mali Uromastyx plus 6 hatchlings from a gravid female this summer. The babies are almost 3 months old. I do let my adult dragons out to splash around in a container of water, which they LOVE, and all day long there is 1-2 dragons out from about 10AM till dusk. They each get 2 hours out of their cages to stretch their legs, drink & bathe. But they of course have noticed these Stink Bugs and a couple of dragons in particular have eaten a few. They get crickets, some Phoenix worms, a few meal worms & mixed greens. The babies only get crickets & don't get time out of their viv. Idk if these bugs r safe & sit with a fly swatter every nite & kill at least 30 bugs a nite. Idk if they're dangerous to dragons and can find NO info on web about stink bugs & bearded dragons. Duz any1 out there know anything about this? The ones they've eaten fortunately haven't hurt them as far as I can tell. But I dont want them to eat them at all. Sum1 pls help!!

 

[Doublet74]

Dont feed your lizards any bugs from outside. Most are filled with parasites and diseases that will make them very sick if not kill them. NOT WORTH THE RISK.

 

[snazzyglasses]

Oh gross eating stink bugs. Wouldn't that taste awful?? Strange little critters lol.
Since it sounds like they're literally everywhere and I don't think they're poisonous (though I could be wrong), you could try to establish a "bug-free" room for their playtime, and keep an eye on the dragons that have already eaten some. The other option I can think of would be leaving them in their vivs until the bug plague has passed. That's no fun for anyone though!
Most hardware stores sell this plastic wrap-looking stuff that you can use to seal your windows during wintertime (all you need is a hair dryer), so maybe you could put that up to help keep bugs out of one or all of the rooms?

 

[johlyn]

We had them bad in Pa last year they say not to kill them because the smell attracts more. I know there are stink bug catchers that you can make on the web not sure of a specific site.

 

[Tonja]

try sprinkling ground cloves around the outside of your house around the foundation. i know cloves keep flies away.

 

[annlizardlover97]

Thank u all 4 ur great responses & things I can do to get thru this "plague"! I do appreciate it. I do want to add that I've kept lizards for 16 years almost & definitely no better than to give them anything from outside. I am NOT feeding these bugs to my lizards. To the contrary, they have overtaken my house as I sed b4 and r getting inside their cages and r also eating them while they're out bathing & drinking. I in no way am purposely giving them to my lizards who I luv more than life itself and want to make sure that's understood. I wud NEVER EVER do anything to hurt Them. That's why I came here & asked the question. I'm not a beginner. Ive kept over 20 species of lizards in the last 15 yrs and do all I can to keep them healthy. Every room in my house is filled with stink bugs so the suggestion of letting them "play" in another room, while good, won't work coz they're everywhere! U just wudnt believe it! Idk how long they'll b around but am praying they'll go away soon. All I can do is keep them inside their vivs but they're already going nuts coz they're so used to getting out a little every day. And a few of the screens don't fit flush on top of cage so there's a small hole in a few of em on the corner and believe me the bugs r finding them!! Today I put towels over the cracks or holes so they can't get in but my poor babies r looking at me like I'm punishing them or sumthing. They're all glass dancing & having fits to get out. I'll try sum of the other suggestions like the cloves, etc but we'll c how it goes. At least no1's sick or worse, yet & I hope it stays that way! Thx to u all!