i saw some bug that looks some what like lady bug, but wrong color. looking all over the web, found out they are kudzu bugs. it seems they don't damage fig trees, but they can still hang around in larger number on fig trees. 

anyone ran into them? any way to control them? so far i only saw one here and one there.. but it seems once they find a good spot, they will move in in large number. 

Never heard of this bug, but ladies are nice, they eat the other nasty bugs like affids.

lady bugs are nice. i see few on my fig trees, but they don't have much to eat there and don't stick around. kudzu bugs are about the size of lady bug but they are more.. box like and they have wrong color.. sort of brown/green/grey with what looks like dust. heard they killing them with hand is not a good idea. something about bad smell and possible skin reaction. 

Malathion.

Had em last year on wisteria bushes.



Doug

Kudzu and asian wisteria are invasive species and are major problems in the southeast and mid-atlantic.  The only time I have ever used roundup or any other herbicide on my property is to deal with the wisteria that pops up in my yard from my neighbor who has let his get out of control.  Asian wisteria might be ok if it is grown in containers otherwise I don't know how you could control it.  The roots are huge and quite deep underground.  I wonder if this bug found its way here from asia and is part of the natural controls on kudzu and wisteria in those countries. 

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

Here is information on the American variety of Wisteria, that grows
wild in the woods of SC.
They make beautiful smelling flowers.
The plant spreads runners on top of the ground with shallow roots.
So long as the runners get cut back, there is no spreading of the plant.
Mine are 8 years old.
Doug

Great Doug - glad you are growing the native type!

Stir fry?  

probably have to deep fry them. original or extra crispy? 

Spray some Cinnamon tea on your plants!

Pete, I had a good many last summer. They don't seem to do any harm to the fig trees or anything else that I can see. They will get
all over the outside of your house. Just a nuisance I think.

Hi bullet08,
Plant "forget me not" plants.
They are poisonous to stinging bugs feeding on sap . As always, just my 2 cents .
I use them against green stink bugs which feed on sap as well but more on tomatoes and cabbages.

Bullet08:  Last year I faced an invasion of kudzu bugs.  They settled in a layer about 1" thick on all my new growth. If they are that selective, they have to be a threat. I dusted my figs with a heavy layer of Sevin as it seemed to me that killing them was better than just moving them on to another tree which they could victimize.  It took 2 applications on successive days to wipe them all out.  I put one on at dusk and then another early in the morning.  When they had all fallen off, I flushed my plants thoroughly to avoid clogging leaf pores. I have not seen them since but am crossing my fingers.  I have never seen so many bugs or a swarm of that size. 

Ew yes we had them for the first time last year. They will walk all over you. Just be careful, one guy tried to pick one up of his neck and it bit him. I've never seen anything like it. Dude looked like he got stung with acid.

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/news-center/media-releases/extension-offers-advice-on-kudzu-bugs/

I have seen them around here for the last couple of years. They are an Asian import and feed on legumes including kudzu. There is some concern that they will be a problem for soybean farmers. They can be killed if sprayed with an pyrethroid based insecticide. If crushed they put out an unpleasant smell similar to stink bugs.