Get Rid of Stink Bugs
Stink bugs are tiny little hitches common in areas near fruit, soy and bean farms, since they like to feast on these foods. They naturally overwinter outdoors in holes in the ground, but if they have access to a warm indoor space, they'll migrate inside. You may not know you have an infestation until they become active when the temperature warms up in spring. Learn how to remove stink bugs from your house and prevent more from getting inside.
Contents
Steps
What to Consider Regarding Pesticides
- Don't use pesticide treatments inside your house. When stink bugs die in your attic or walls, they continue to stink as they decompose.
- Don't use topical pesticides in your yard. Adult stink bugs have tough outer shells that are hard to penetrate, and using an insecticide will only kill the other bugs in your yard. Don't spray your garden, trees, or other foliage with the intention of killing stink bugs.
- Consider using a perimeter treatment outside. Pesticide treatments sprayed around the perimeter of your property and house are said to block migrating insects like stink bugs from coming in. Research treatments that will work best for your home.
- Choose from liquid, powder or granule pesticides. Be sure to read the warnings so you know what other bugs and creatures will be affected by the type of pesticide you choose.
- The pesticide should be applied before the stink bugs migrate to your area.
- Call a professional exterminator. A professional local to your area will have ideas for how to eliminate the stink bug population near you. Consider contacting an exterminator before applying a pesticide on your own.
Strategies for Keeping Stink Bugs Out
- Seal your house. Stink bugs are likely to come into your house by way of cracks or holes on its exterior. Go outside and give the outside of your house a thorough check for possible entry points.
- Pay special attention to areas near doors and windows. Are there gaps under the doors or between the windows and the walls?
- Seal cracks with caulk or another hardy, impenetrable material.
- Buy high quality screens. If you like to feel the summer breeze when the weather is warm, keep stink bugs (and other creatures) out using screens. Make sure the screens are fitted into the frames properly so that the stink bugs can't squeeze around gaps or holes.
- If you have older screens, take a look to see if they need repairing or updating. Metal or fiber screens often get holes, and it only takes one to let a stink bug inside.
- Windows aren't the only openings that need to be screened. Screen the opening of your chimney, pipe or gutter openings, drains, vents, and any other opening through which stink bugs can make their way inside your home.
- Get rid of stink bug eggs. Stink bugs eat fruit and vegetables, and they lay their barrel-shaped eggs in clumps on the undersides of leaves. Look for the eggs when temperatures warm up in the spring, and take measures to get rid of them.
- The soapy water method works as well outside as it does inside. Use a stick to knock the eggs - and any nearby stink bugs - from the leaves into a bucket of soapy water.
- If you have a garden or a fruit tree that you think may be a home to stink bugs, consider trimming it back or getting rid of it. It's difficult to completely eliminate stink bugs from an area if they still have a food source around.
- Trim back bushes, weeds, and areas of overgrown foliage to prevent stink bugs from laying their eggs in your yard.
- Use the color yellow to your advantage. Stink bugs are attracted to yellow, a weakness you can use against them by placing yellow sticky traps around your garden. The stink bugs land on the traps and aren't able to fly away.
- This color can work to your disadvantage, too, if you love yellow daisies or sunflowers. Remove yellow flowers from your yard, or plant them well away from your house, to avoid attracting stink bugs.
- Yellow sticky traps will attract and trap beneficial pollinators in addition to stinkbugs. If your garden is dependent upon bees/other pollinators, you may want to consider another method.
Quick Solutions for Getting Rid of Stink Bugs
- Catch them on a piece of 2 inch wide masking tape. Pull off a piece of tape around 6 inches long, and place it over the stink bug, pressing just firmly enough to stick the bug to the tape. Quickly pick up the tape and fold it over, trapping the bug inside the tape. It will not have time to get off a blast of odor. Sometimes the bug doesn't stick to the tape on the first try, in that case apply the tape again and press a little harder. They stick to the tape much easier when they are upside down.
- Catch them with a plastic bag or paper towel. If you see a stink bug in the house, cover your hand with a plastic bag or paper towel, carefully pick it up, and dispose of it immediately. The bugs release their noxious smell when they sense danger, and you risk getting it on your hands if you touch them.
- Don't squeeze the stink bug when you catch it. You'll have a difficult time clearing the smell out of your house.
- If you catch a stink bug during the winter, you can place it outside. Stink bugs freeze if they're outside in cold weather, so it won't be making its way back in.
- You could also flush the stink bug down the toilet or enclose it in a bottle with a top and discard it.
- Place them into soapy water. Stink bugs quickly drown when they are knocked into soapy water, and if you use a scented soap it will mask the smell. Fill a bucket or other container with water and dish soap, then place stink bugs in the solution after you catch them.
- If you have stink bugs on your walls or curtains, you can knock them directly into the bucket. Place the bucket under the the stink bug and use a broom or brush to knock it off the wall into the bucket.
- When you're ready to discard the bugs you collected, strain them out of the soapy water and throw them away or flush them down the toilet.
- Vacuum them from your floors and walls. Vacuuming stink bugs is an effective method that prevents you from having to touch them. When you vacuum stink bugs, make sure you change the bag right away, since the vacuum will otherwise smell like the bugs.
- Don't use a central vacuum that doesn't require a bag. The smell of the stink bugs will permeate your home.
- If you're dealing with a constant stream of stink bugs in your home, consider buying a vacuum specifically for the purpose of cleaning up stink bugs.
- Spray them with an insecticide. Find an insecticide meant for on-the-spot treatment - rather than one designed for spraying your house's corners and killing bugs over time - and spray the stink bugs as you see them.
- Once the stink bug has stopped moving, sweep it up and discard it in the trash can, or flush it down the toilet.
- This method is effective, but insecticide may have an effect on the people and pets in your house, too. Try the soapy water or vacuuming method first.
Tips
- Some say that crushing a few stink bugs outside the house serves as a warning to other stink bugs that danger is nearby.
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