How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs

Summary: Stink bugs are nuisances that will invade homes because they are attracted to light. Be careful when trying to get rid of them because they will release an odor for self-defense.

Have small, shield-shaped bugs flown into your house and emitted a gross odor? These insects are called stink bugs because they possess a gland that releases an odor as a means of self-defense. There's nothing like a good dose of “stink” to protect yourself from being eaten by a bird or lizard.

Stink bugs live in meadows, fields, yards, or gardens and especially those with low shrubs. They are most active from spring through fall, but they usually become house invaders at the beginning of fall when temperatures start to drop. They sometimes hibernate on the outside of some south-facing buildings for warmth, but usually over winter in protected areas under dead weeds, stones or in the bark of trees.

The stink bug's eggs are yellow, yellow-red, white, or pale green in color and can be found on the underside of leaves in clumps of 20 to 30 eggs. Eggs are only found outdoors on plants because stink bugs cannot reproduce indoors. Thank goodness for small favors. Plants are the primary source of food for stink bugs. They typically feed on fruit plants and nuts. They particularly enjoy honeydew, tomatoes, beans, corn, squash, peppers, cabbage, and any type of fruit, using their beaks to pierce and suck plant juice. This activity can cause major damage to gardens. If you discover stink bugs on your plants you can scoop them up using a pill bottle or other small container. This is time consuming, but the containers help you avoid the smell they emit.

Exclusion is the key to avoiding stink bug invasions. Sealing your house by closing doors and windows will help keep them out of your home. If there are cracks in your siding, windows, doors, utility pipes, behind chimneys, or other openings, good quality silicone or silicone-latex caulk will help stop their entry. Replace ripped window and door screens and install screens on attic vents. Inspect entries to crawl spaces to make sure they are properly sealed.

Here's the part I know you will hate hearing. You just spent a ton of money installing outdoor lighting to make your home look warm and inviting. Or, you added lighting as a security measure. Well, stink bugs are attracted to light. So, now your house is a beacon that shouts “Come to me all ye stink bugs looking for a home.” Stink bugs are drawn to lights coming from your windows, too. I can't ask you to shutter your windows at night, but closing the shades will help. 

Stink bug eggs

So, what's a body to do? There are pesticides that will kill stink bugs that have amassed on walls and ceilings. Readily available aerosol-type pyrethrum foggers will knock them down, but the treatment will not prevent more stink bugs from emerging shortly afterwards. The bombs are advertised to show clouds of pesticides magically spreading throughout the room, getting into every nook and cranny, chasing bugs out of hiding. The reality is the fog rises into the air, then settles back down. You would do a lot better simply doing a thorough inspection and using a vacuum to collect the bugs.

Exterior insecticide treatments applied in the fall containing synthetic pyrethroids like deltamethrin, cyfluthrin or lambda-cyhalothrin may provide some relief. If you are uncomfortable applying pesticides or lack the proper equipment you might consider having a licensed pest control operator apply the materials. It's good to know that insecticides break down in sunlight, so the residual effect of the treatment will be short and may not have an effect on the bugs much more than several days or a week. You might try planting some plants that repel stink bugs like marigolds, mint, garlic, radishes and catnip.

Traps baited with the known chemical lure (methy 2,4,6-decatrienoate) are useful for monitoring the spread of the stink bug, but it remains to be seen if a strategy of trap and kill can be devised to protect homes from being inundated in the fall. One problem in experimenting with this type of approach is that the compound is not commercially available, so not enough of the compound is available to do large scale experiments. Researchers have their doubts that in areas where there are large numbers of bugs such as near soybean fields at the end of the growing season, that enough bugs can be caught to significantly decrease the number of bugs seeking shelter in buildings.

If your home becomes infested with stink bugs, be wary before sucking them into the vacuum cleaner. Squashing them or vacuuming them will usually make the smell worse. Wear gloves if you need to handle stink bugs because their unique beaks are fully capable of biting humans. Although their bites are not harmful, you will feel something similar to a sharp pinprick if you are bitten. Not fun!

There are people studying the problem. Several universities are working on solutions which you can read about in another article by clicking here.

Okay! You are armed with just enough information to do battle. Go out and fight a good fight!