This Is How You Tackle Stink Bugs Effectively

How to Identify Stink Bugs

Stink bugs are tiny bugs that range in green, brown, and black coloring that are only offensive due to their horrid smell. They are dime-sized and shield-shaped, with long stick-like legs. Stink bugs can fly quickly but crawl slowly, making them easy to eliminate. However, squishing these bugs releases their smell, and there are less-stinky ways to get rid of stink bugs.

Step 1: Take the Stink Bugs Outside

If you notice stink bugs inside your house, it’s important not to touch or squash them, or they’ll release their infamous stench. Instead, use a plastic bag to lift them and move them outdoors, where they can be stinky in peace. Stink bugs are actually cute and will walk onto your hand or a pencil and ride peacefully back to the outside world. Alternatively, you can drop them into a jar of soapy water or flush them down the toilet. 

Step 2: Vacuum the Stragglers

Vacuums can be just as effective in eliminating stink bugs. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck in bugs out of their hiding places. You’ll usually find them hiding in window frames, wood siding, and even around light fixtures and electrical outlets. Once you’ve collected all the bugs, remove the bag and toss it in the outdoor bin. 

Step 3: Use Stink Bug Traps

Homemade stink bug traps can be as effective as professional traps in managing stink bug infestations. A combination of dish soap, white vinegar, and hot water can effectively get rid of stink bugs, though if your infestation is more severe, more effective measures may be needed.

Homemade Towel Stink Bug Trap

Soak a towel in water and wring it until it’s damp, not sopping. Hang the towel in an open area outside of your home. The stink bugs will head to the towel to drink, and once you’ve collected enough, dunk the entire towel in a bucket of soapy water. The soap will kill them on impact; dump the water once they’re all dead. Be sure to throw the towel in the washing machine before using it again.

Homemade Soap Stink Bug Trap

Use a desk lamp with bright light to attract the stink bugs to your trap – stink bugs are naturally attracted to black, white, or blue light and will flock to the source. Place a bowl or pan of dish-soap-filled water under the lamp. The bugs will arrive at the bowl in approximately 12 hours and be killed by the soap.

Step 4: Use Homemade Stink Bug Repellant

Keep stink bugs out of the house with a natural repellent. Neem oil gives off an aversive aroma that stink bugs try to avoid, making it a highly effective pest preventative. Spraying neem oil around the house and its perimeter will deter them from sneaking into your home.

Squash a Few Stink Bugs Outside

Another option, though less effective and somewhat risky, is to squash stink bugs outside your house. The smell they emit will serve as a warning sign for other stink bugs and keep them from coming near the danger site. However, the stink can attract other bugs and potentially invite another type of infestation.

Step 5: Remove What Attracts Stink Bugs

Stink bugs may appear to materialize out of nowhere, but there are a few likely culprits to which you can attribute their arrival. These bugs love ripe fruit, so a bunch of ripe bananas could be sounding the siren call. They also feed on various garden and native wild plants, so gardeners are especially likely to need to deal with these pests. Removing fruit and preemptively protecting your gardens can help mitigate stink bugs’ bites and odors.

Step 6: Prevent Stink Bugs

Stink bugs also have lower activity in the winter, sneaking into warm wall crevices or attics for warmth from the outside cold. Once the temperature warms again, stink bugs emerge from their “slumbers” and appear, becoming more active. Take steps in the fall to prevent them from invading in the first place, like sealing windows with caulk and addressing any apparent openings.  Exterior lighting may also attract the invaders, as stink bugs are mesmerized by white or blue light. Try switching to outdoor bulbs to more yellow bulbs or sodium-vapor lights, which are reported to be less enticing to bugs.

The Bottom Line

While a stink bug infestation poses an uncomfortable problem, preventing and removing these tiny bugs from your home is relatively easy. Thankfully, the bugs are slow-moving and simple to dispose of, with the above steps as a handy starting point. With a few tricks and a generous helping of preventative measures, your stink bug problem will be a thing of the past. 

Where Did the Stink Bug Start?

Originating in Asia, the Stink Bug did not go to the United States until the late 1990s.

Where Are They Found?

First found in a town in Pennsylvania in 1996, they did not become famous until 2001, when they had migrated all the way to New Jersey. In 2004, after being found in Virginia, they were considered an “invasive” species in the United States. Eventually, Halyomorpha halys has been found inhabiting the lands of The District of Columbia and 44 out of 50 of the States in the United States.

What Is a Stink Bug?

They are shaped like a shield, with six legs and wings. A stink bug is a herbivore. They are only eating plants and vegetation. The mouth of a stink bug is known to be pierce-sucking, which means they pierce the plant and then suck up its juices.

Known to get about 2cm big, the stink bug is said to be a great pilot. Adult stink bugs are the only form of this species that can fly. A baby stink bug is permanently grounded. So, if it is flying, it’s old enough to have a license.

What Is a Stink Bug? (Cont.)

Most importantly, what I am sure you are waiting to read about is that the stink gland is found located on the belly of this bug. When frightened, injured, or even killed, the stink bug will release a foul odor from this gland.

It has been said to smell mostly of cilantro mixed with a few other spices. I am not sure if stink would be the correct word to use. To the human nose, it would be more strong and spicy. To another animal, though, that smell would be putrid. I keep thinking of my dog and how his smelly senses are triple the times of mine. A stink bug gas-ing would make him run for the hills!

Giving Up the Gas

Not only do stink bugs release a gas when they are in danger, but they also release a gas when they want to attract other stinky stompers. That’s right, they call their friends! When a stink bug has found a place to “call home,” it will release a gas, coating the area in it. That way, they attract other stink bugs to their location! It is like the official Bat Symbol, except it is not done by a flashlight towards the sky.

Where Do They Nest?

Early in the fall, stink bugs will seek a place to settle down over the winter. They are looking for somewhere to stay warm and out of the way. This is when homeowners will find them in the doorways and window sills. They are found in the entryways of the home.

Once inside, they can be found anywhere. They like to sun themselves so during the day you can find them located by a window or somewhere where there is a sunspot! You will often see them on the outside walls of your home, searching for an entrance towards the heat.

Where Do They Nest?

When outside, you will find stink bugs living in the vegetation. Think large leaf piles and any yard waste. This is why keeping your yard clean is essential: raking up wet piles of leaves and removing any trash or outdoor debris you find lying around.

Female stink bugs lay 30-40 eggs twice a year. Besides being small, these eggs are yellow to green in color. Underneath leaves is where the female stink bug goes to lay her eggs. This is an example of the importance of cleaning your yard waste.

Do They Bite?

No, stink bugs do not bite. Their mouth area is not built to be able to bite. They have a “piercing-sucking” mouth. Which means they are NOT ABLE to bite. There is a long tube that provides sucking. Running out of the tube is a long needle-like structure. This is what they use to pierce with. So a stink bug will pierce a plant and then use the tube to suck up the contents out of the inside.

There are no teeth and no mouth. Not like what you are, I have. Their mouth is almost like a beak but a tube instead.

Do They Bite? (Cont.)

There is no need to worry. They cannot harm you. They can make you uncomfortable with their smell- although that is the limitation of their strength.