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10 Ways to Fend Off Stink Bugs

Find out how to trap them, drown them, and generally make your home an unfriendly target for the critters.

 

 

You've probably seen them crawling on your screens or fluttering around your house. You can't crush them, because they expel a musty scent when frightened, a defensive technique that has earned them their name—stink bugs.

Stink bugs, which have a brown, shield-like body, were first discovered in Allentown, PA in 2001, according to a University of Maryland entomology bulletin. They feed on fruit trees, ornamental plants, vegetables and legumes, and are common throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, especially in the fall, according to the bulletin

Although stink bugs are not known to present any harm to humans, according to UMD, they are a major nuisance.

Here are ten ways to get rid of them:

1. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the bugs - UMD Bulletin.

2. Cut the top of a half gallon or gallon jug, fill it with soapy water and use a piece of cardboard or a napkin to whisk the bugs into the water, which will drown them - UMD Bulletin.

3. Seal up cracks around windows and doors with caulk or weather stripping. - UMD Home and Garden Information Center.

4. Take out window-unit air conditioners; stink bugs can easily get through these. - UMD HGIC.

5. Plant or move fruit trees and vegetable gardens, especially tomato plants, away from your home to prevent stink bugs from landing on the exterior of your home. - UMD HGIC.

6. Squish stink bugs outdoors--the odor warns other stink bugs to flee. - Bayer Advanced insect control.

7. Hang a stink bug trap outside your house to catch them. - UMD Bug Guy, Mike Raupp, YouTube.

8. Hang a damp towel outside your home overnight. In the morning, stink bugs will blanket the towel, and you can use a vacuum or knock them into a jug of soapy water to kill them. - Bayer Advanced

9. Although most insecticides are ineffective against stink bugs, some do work, but the bug must be clearly on the label. Insecticides are never to be used indoors - UMD HGIC

10. Check your attic for holes or gaps and close them up. Stinkbugs often enter through attics - Mike Raupp, UMD Bug Guy, YouTube.

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Related Topics: Garden, Get Rid of Stink Bugs, Preventing Stink Bugs in Your Home, Problem, Stink Bugs, Ten Ways, UMD, kill, killing stink bugs, and maryland

Kelley Pitts

5:42 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012

get the cardboard tube from paper towels, get a plastic bag, and use a rubberband to put the bag on the tube. You can put rubbing alcohol in the bag. You can use the end of the tube to slide the bug off of a wall, ceiling, etc The bug will slide down the tube into the bag and can be easily disposed of in the trash.

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Michael Wilson

6:00 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012

Heres another that I found worked real well...If the stink bugs are coming thru your attic, hang three or four of those sticky fly strips around the light in the attic and leave the light on 24-7. The stink bugs are attracted to the light and and will fly around it an eventually get stuck on the strips. I got a couple of hundred of them over the last 6 months that would had been in the house.

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EL

8:35 am on Friday, September 28, 2012

But when they get stuck, do they release their stink?

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Bill Campbell

10:51 am on Monday, October 1, 2012

Mostly good advice here, except you do NOT want to crush them. The release of their odor attracts more and does NOT "warn" others to stay away.

I wrote an entire guide on how to get rid of stink bugs from your home and garden. It can be downloaded from http://www.getridofstinkbugsnow.com

Thanks.

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Turbo Martin

9:36 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013

We can atest to the fact of squishing them...it brings droves of them!!!! Winter time they apparently hybernate or just lay dormant till they freeze to death or until heat is present then "BAMMM!!!!" They're all over the place!!! We have a cedar sided house and they seem to hit us harder than a vinyl sided or brick house. They ougtta draw and quarter the person responsible for letting these varments loose!!!!!! Signed"Completely Covered in Verona Virginia"

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Zeke Misek

4:44 pm on Sunday, January 20, 2013

I would have to agree with the other comments above about squashing stink bugs... Bad idea.... You don't want to squash them indoors OR outdoors. That stench that they release (which smells like cilantro) can actually attract MORE stink bugs, as opposed to acting as a deterrent to warn others to keep away!

Plus that stench can be pretty hard to get rid of, if it gets on your skin, your clothes, or your property.

There are numerous ways how to kill stink bugs and keep them away from your home, some of which the article above does an excellent job of explaining.

Check out the website http://www.howtokillstinkbugs.com. They've got tons of useful information, videos and guides on how to deal with stink bugs... and even educational information resources about them.... everything you have never wanted to know about stink bugs!

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Gloria Card

7:39 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013

Why would we all of a sudden have a sink bug in Syracuse in the middle of winter, inside?

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Marsha

8:35 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013

FYI.... stink bugs can hurt you!!! They actually have a tiny beak. It is sharp and very sturdy. They will impale you with it and then break it off. It looks like a tiny splinter. This happened to my husband. The stink bug broke its beak off in his palm. His hand instantly got very red and had a burning feeling. I had to remove the beak like you would a splinter.

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Helen

1:10 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013

Sure would have been nice for someone to have posted "get rid of stink bugs" advice for free. But everyone's out to make a buck, or in this case - $25! Sheesh

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Dmof

11:55 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013

I mix Dawn (blue color only, don't ask me why) and white vinegar. Mix your summer batch now and let it ferment . Put in spray bottle and it will bring them down and prevent others.

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Jen

1:05 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013

What's the ratio of Dawn and vinegar in your mixture? Do you add any water? We have them all year round and it's driving me crazy!

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Zigg

12:10 am on Friday, April 12, 2013

Is the dawn and vinegar still working? Does it prevent them from coming back?

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Sanchez

1:30 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

Liquid dish detergent and water alone work well on any creepy crawlers. the soap film forms a bubble around the bug and they cannot breath. Then all you do is wipe them up and clean at the same time. Works on those more pesty ants that come in in the spring.

I got that years ago from the UM Exchange Service for my unbelievable Alder Bug problem and have been using it ever since.

t.a.m

6:40 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013

does anyone know if they mate? or lay eggs etc? i occassionally find one or two in odd areas of the house then find very small bugs flying around house same area have found the stink bugs which is why I am wondering this...

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al geary

7:14 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013

yes they mate on most flowering bushes and trees they lay eggs on the under side of leaves in patches small green ones will appear kill all you see now or it will cause an infestation

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Sanchez

1:31 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

i have had them bad and never read anywhere that they do any damage to anything in the home. They want to get OUT this time of year to breed.

lunar

10:06 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013

We are being inundated with them in Central Texas. I just vacc'd up about 30 of them and already see 6 more I missed. We have NO fruit trees in our yard. We cannot understand why they keep coming in, or where they are coming from (well, we know they are coming from under the front door-but there where from outside????). My vac is starting to stink bad. We don't even want to be in our living room at this point as they are taking over.

So far, the only thing that seems to hold them off a day or so is Listerine.

HELP!!?!?!

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randy teets

9:19 am on Sunday, February 24, 2013

i use a peice of toilet paper to pick up the bug put into toilet and flush 10 min later as it quits moving but am goin to try the blue dawn and viniger in spray bottle for my tomatoes this year and replace the boarded up basment windows this spring more light in basement and hope less bugs next year :]

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Paul

7:17 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013

Paul , Foxboro Ma
Don't squish them on wallpaper , their body fluid takes the ink off. We learned the hard way on brand new paper.

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Nancy Lacaria

3:27 pm on Thursday, April 4, 2013

I found that a pole lamp with multiple lights work great. I purchased a pole lamp from Lowes which had five different lights with globes. If you point all five globes toward the ceiling and turn the lamp on they will go to the bulb and die. You then just dump the globes every couple of days. No stink no mess.

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tina mayberry

12:01 am on Saturday, April 6, 2013

These nasty Stink bugs remind me ov an oversized Tic. I'm so.... grossed out. There's nothing like taking a shower. And Bam there's a stink bug above U n the skylight. Those Little PERVERTS!!! Lol

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sierra croe

7:46 pm on Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Our house is infested with the little bugs the house smells and I end up stepping on two stink bugs a day this sucks I tried every one of those things but nothing happens im in a living nightmare!!!! :-(

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sierracroe

7:48 pm on Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Our house is infested with the little bugs the house smells and I end up stepping on two stink bugs a day this sucks I tried every one of those things but nothing happens im in a living nightmare!!!! :-(

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bec

4:46 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013

I flush so many bugs on a daily basis my water bill went up. I think it is biological warfare.

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Rebecca Schuelke

2:18 pm on Friday, April 19, 2013

Raid fumigator is the bet thing I've found to kill the bugs in your home. It won't be a total kill but it will help a lot.
Covered up in Virginia.

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jim cote

1:04 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

built my house in 1997 - in 1998 the exterior got covered one day with lady bugs - every spring they come back and i find hundreds in the house - starting two years ago - stink bugs started - so this year - i bought "Home Defense" (since no kids or pets) I sprayed around the exterior and interior of all windows - sprayed the baseboards inside - sprayed the basement where the wood meets the foundation - and then sprayed up under the vinyl siding at the foundation - so far the only critters that i've had this spring have been dead ones that lay on the window sills

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Sanchez

1:34 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

Lady Bugs are beneficial to us. I get them each year and do my best to capture them and put them outside around the house to destroy aphids etc.

Morning Jolt: 72,000 ladybugs released in mall
http://www.milforddailynews.com/newsnow/x1213305081/Morning-Jolt-72-000-ladybugs-released-in-mall

Sanchez

1:36 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

Dust Busters are a way to go too! Make sure you empty it outside before hanging it back in the charger!

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lisa

11:13 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

Dryer sheets between your window and screen helps I don't think the like the smell I use bounce dryer sheets

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melanie Jo

7:52 pm on Tuesday, April 30, 2013

We grab them with TOILET PAPER AND SQUISH THEM, THEN TOSS EM OR FLUSH EM. sEE ONE EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS OR SO. tHEY REALLY DO LOOK LIKE TICKS IN THOSE SMALLER PICTURES.

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lenaalix

8:49 am on Monday, May 20, 2013

For this post, I’ll be talking about how I spoof the content of any app on Facebook. I’m also going to talk about a few of the “unfix”: bug found in Facebook (some of which still work). These bugs provide attackers with avenues to inject external links or images to a wall (newsfeed) post that appear to come from trustworthy apps like Soundcloud or Candy Crush
<a href="http://www.breaksec.com/">Web Application Security Assessment</a>

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annie

11:45 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013

thank u for all the info but I am so grossed out by these stink bugs I been,squshing then but now I know

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