The Camili (Macahel) Valley, declared and protected by UNESCO as ‘Turkey’s first biosphere reserve’ in Borcka district of Artvin, has been invaded by the brown skunk beetle, an agricultural pest.
The Camili Valley on the Georgian border, which UNESCO declared as ‘Turkey‘s first biosphere reserve’ in 2005, has been invaded by the brown skunk beetle (Halyomorpha halys), an agricultural pest.
In the Camili village of the valley, which is hidden in the Karçal Mountains, which is characterized as an ecological and cultural treasure and attracts attention with its old forests, and in the villages of Düzenli, Efeler, Kayalar, Uğur and Maral, the brown skunk beetle entered the houses with the cold weather and started to breed.
The teams of the Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry started a study on the insect that absorbs the water of the plants and causes them to dry.
They damage most agricultural products
Artvin Coruh University Faculty of Forestry Lecturer Prof. Dr. Temel Göktürk stated that the insect in question came to the region from Georgia 4 years ago.
Stating that the insect harms agricultural products the most, Prof. Dr. Göktürk said, “It feeds by absorbing the juice of herbaceous plants such as beans, kiwis, apples, pears, nettles and blackberries, especially hazelnuts. There are 2,727 species of plants in Artvin, most of which are herbaceous plants. As a matter of fact, it should be on the red list for the Eastern Black Sea; hazelnuts We haven’t seen their full damage yet.
However, this does not mean that the damage of the insect, whose population is constantly increasing, will not grow in the coming years. Insects have a psychological effect on people when the weather gets colder and enters the houses. They spend the winter hiding in houses and stagnant. When spring comes and the weather warms up, they spread by flying. Even though their presence is known outside, people understand their intensity more clearly when they enter the houses,” he said.
Cavit Kahya, the headman of Efeler village, who said that the brown skunk beetle has increased in the last month with the arrival of autumn, said, “We cannot open the balconies, doors and windows. They enter the house and live in clothes. They spend the winter at home because it is cold. “Because there is a lot of beekeeping here, we can’t do pesticides,” he said.
“He takes refuge wherever he finds an empty place”
Muhammet Bozkan, a resident of Güreşen village infested by the brown skunk beetle, said: “There are too many in the houses. It smells, we cannot enter the houses. It also engulfed our gardens. If he finds a vacant place, he takes shelter, I guess he is growing up,” he said.
Stating that insects have invaded houses and gardens, Salih Külünk said, “Our crops, beans and hazelnuts were damaged. Vegetables could not grow. Precautions should be taken.” Showing insects nesting on the roof of his house, Miraç Bozkan said, “They took hostage everywhere. They come out of our bed, we cannot sleep at night. They nest in every corner of the house. They are everywhere on the roof, in the bathroom, in the sink. This disease has plagued us everywhere. Its smell makes us sick to our stomach.”
