Do you have stink bugs where you live? If you do, you know that you have to be very careful to get rid of them or your house can end up smelling like, well, stink. Here are some tips on how to get rid of stink bugs naturally with natural pest control ideas.
How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs Naturally
In general when outside, adult stink bugs feed on fruits and nymphs feed on leaves, stems and fruit. They like to find shelter from the winter elements and will enter your homes if not properly closed up against them.
Do stink bugs bite?
Although stink bugs are not known to bite humans, their tendency to invade homes in high numbers can be a nuisance.
Prevent Stink Bugs
To prevent stink bugs from entering your house, seal any cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes, behind chimneys, and underneath the wood siding. Use a good quality silicone or silicone-latex caulk. Damaged screens on doors and windows should be repaired or replaced.
The bugs do not breed indoors, and dead stink bugs do not attract other stink bugs. But live stink bugs will emit odors to attract other stink bugs, so you have to get rid of them should you find any.
How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs
Here are some ideas on how to get rid of stink bugs:
Outdoors
- Rub screens with scented dryer sheets – the more pungent the better. Some homeowners have found this can reduce stink bugs entering a home by up to 80 percent.
- Squish a few stink bugs outdoors. The odor warns other stink bugs to flee.
Inside
- You can catch the stink bug and put it outside in wintry climates where they’ll freeze or flush them down the toilet.
- Grab them gently with a plastic bag to avoid touching them directly. Seal the bag and put in garbage.
- Vacuum bugs, and empty the bag afterward. Don’t suck stink bugs into a bagless vacuum you use in your home. After vacuuming stink bugs, the vacuum will stink.
- If you have a canister vacuum, you can wrap a knee-high stocking around the outside of the vacuum tube, secure it with a rubber band, and then stuff it into the tube. Stink bugs will be trapped in the stocking and won’t enter the vacuum filter. When you turn off the vacuum, careful remove the stocking, holding the end closed. Dump the captured stink bugs into a container of soapy water to kill the bugs.
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