The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is causing extensive economic losses in tree fruit crops. Including attract-and-kill (AK) strategies targeting BMSBs in an integrated pest management framework could reduce the amounts of insecticides sprayed and benefit growers, consumers and the environment. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an area-wide AK strategy across an intensive fruticulture region of Northern Italy, comparing four paired pear sites with and without two AK stations ha⁻¹. These stations consisted of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets containing alpha-cypermethrin, baited with the BMSB aggregation pheromone and synergist. BMSB abundance was estimated using black-standing monitoring traps, and fruit damage upon harvest was recorded across all sites. The AK stations did not decrease the BMSB abundance nor the fruit damage, while after harvest significantly lower BMSB captures were detected in the AK sites compared to the control sites. Whilst the lures’ efficacy was corroborated by this research, the killing method requires improvement and refinement.

Entomophilous mass-flowering crops such as rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) may especially benefit from Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM) programs aimed at protecting the crop while reducing pollinator exposure to harmful pesticides. Yellow sticky trap barriers around field edges might represent an insecticide-free method of controlling immigrating pests. In this pilot study, we set up two experimental plots in a rapeseed agroecosystem in Northern Italy, comparing sticky traps with an insecticide treatment (acetamiprid), considering pest incidence/damage, pollinators/pollination services and yield. Sticky traps were associated with lower numbers of spring-immigrating pests (pollen beetles, weevils) and a lower percentage of seed pod damage. Overall yield was nonetheless higher in the insecticide treatment plot, possibly due to autumn-immigrating pest species which could be controlled by the insecticide but not by the sticky trap barrier (installed in spring). We found no significant effect of the treatments on pollinators or pollination, although plants treated with insecticide showed a higher average pollination deficit. Overall, our pilot study highlighted potential in yellow sticky traps as an IPPM measure, but they showed some limits—implying they would need to be paired with complementary methods, or to be installed earlier to intercept also autumn-immigrating pests.