Fall is coming, which means so are the stink bugs!
These smelly insects always seem to find their way into our homes, and it can be a pain to remove them.
The first step to eradicating a stink bug problem is to figure out how they are getting inside and stop them from getting inside in the future.
How Stink Bugs are Getting In
When you're being invaded by bugs you need to check all access points and seal them up!
This involves inspecting your entire home. Look for cracks, crevices, and holes in your home's makeup. Be sure to check areas like your siding, pipes, ventilation, windows, chimneys, fascia, weather sealants, and any other openings.
You should replace any damaged siding, windows, or weather sealant to make your home less accessible to stink bugs.
Tips on Keeping Stink Bugs Out
Turn the lights out.
Since stink bugs are attracted to light, it is recommended to minimize any exposure of light from your home. This could include turning outdoor and indoor lights off when not in use. You should also shut your shades, blinds, or curtains to stop light from leaking outside and attracting stink bugs.
Eliminate excess moisture.
Excess moisture and water build up can attract all kinds of pests, because like any other living thing, they need water to survive and will search it out anywhere they can. Be sure to check your home for leaking pipes, clogged drains, and any standing water. You may also consider using a dehumidifier in areas you believe have too much moisture.
Only feed your family and friends.
Though stink bugs are not a threat to our health and safety, they are still not our friends and we do not want to encourage them to hangout with us. By leaving food around the house for them to eat they are going to stick around, and keep coming back in search of more. Make sure to clean up any food scraps or crumbs to prevent stink bugs from having a source of nourishment in your home. Consider wiping down your counters, washing your dishes, and sweeping your floors.
Take care of and maintain your yard.
Like all bugs, stink bugs enter your home from outside. This means that your yard could be part of the problem. Make sure you distance your home from the vegetation in your yard; keep branches and other shrubbery trimmed and away from your home. Stink bugs love rotted wood. You should keep any piles of firewood far from your home, and make sure that window and door frames, decks, and all other wooden structures are finished and healthy.
Methods of Getting Rid of Stink Bugs in Your Home
Other than a foul odor, an annoying flying sound, and a gross appearance, stink bugs do not harm humans.
The way to judge how to get rid of stink bugs depends on how many there are, and where they are.
If your stink bugs are outside, maybe congregating on your window or the side of your home, you can simply spray them a mixture of soap and water. The soap is potent and powerful enough to penetrate their exoskeleton and give them a strong encouragement to fly away.
Do not squish stink bugs in your home! Under no circumstances is this the best move for removing stink bugs. When a stink bug is threatened it will release a foul smelling odor from its body.
If you find one or two stink bugs in your home it may have just gotten in when you accidentally left the door open for too long. You should start by gently approaching them with a paper that they can latch onto, or a container that they can crawl into, and then release them back into the wild.
If you have many stink bugs in your home you may have heard to use a vacuum. This is good advice, if you understand the entirety of what stink bugs can do. Even dead stink bugs will stink up your home with the residue they leave inside your vacuum. If you do decide to vacuum them, consider getting a vacuum specifically for stink bugs, disposing of the bag far away from your home after sucking them up, and using air freshener to mask the released odor.
If your problem is out of hand, we recommend you call a pest control professional. An inspection can be done to determine the further steps you should take to solve your specific pest problem.
For more information about stink bugs and other pests that might bother you as the months begin to cool off, check out our guide, How to Stop Bugs from Making Your House Their Winter Home.
