The Brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is causing damages for about 750 million euros for the Italian agriculture only. Adult bugs find their nutriments on leaves from more than 120 varieties of trees, shrubs, and non-woody plants above ground (in particular apple, pear and peach trees), using pheromones to attract other beetles, reproduce and overwhelm plants, skeletonizing leaves from the top of the plant downward.

Attempts to solve the problem have been mostly ineffective so far, such as: 

• traps, that seems attracting bugs rather than repelling them
• chemical pesticides, that have more efficacy but higher risk of causing soil contamination
• insecticidal soap that is only effective if sprayed directly onto the bug (it can be harmful for other helpful insects)
• imported antagonists, such as samurai wasps, tha can cause changes in the balance of autochthonous species
• natural repellents, such as garlic extract, which have been proven to have very limited effectiveness. 

Nanomnia is testing a fully green and free of residues solution encapsulation to strongly limit the reproduction of the Brown marmorated stink bug, before its growth stage. The solution has shown, so far, promising results, such as:

• 30% higher efficacy than commercial disinfectants
• comparable efficacy with more expensive bio-based commercial products 
• comparable efficacy with mineral copper-based commercial products.

This formulated technology is in the last test phase (TRL 7).