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Casey Clark is a contributing writer at USA TODAY Homefront. She specializes in home, beauty and mental health content and has written for publications including The Spruce, Better Homes & Gardens and The Wall Street Journal. She’s covered home content ranging from air conditioners to farmhouse tables. When Casey’s not working, you can find her out to brunch with her girlfriends. She’s based in New York City.
Stink bug infestations happen in the winter when the bugs seek shelter from cold temperatures.
You can vacuum up stink bugs or spray them with soapy water, but an infestation can call for an expert.
You can deter stink bugs by sealing off entry points and routinely inspecting your doors and windows.
Stink bugs get their name from the unpleasant odor they produce when they feel threatened. Generally, they emit this smell to deter predators from eating them while they’re outside. However, they can enter your home and unleash this same scent. So, it helps to know how to get rid of stink bugs.
“You don’t want these insects crawling around in your home because quite simply, they stink,” said Jerry Wang, chemical specialist and owner of DIYPestWarehouse. “Last thing you want is this type of insect roaming around the house and not knowing when their unpleasant scent will be released.”
Typically, the severity of the infestation should determine whether you contact a pest control expert or choose DIY methods such as vacuuming and spraying the insects with soapy water.
Stink bugs are native to Asia and were accidentally introduced in the U.S. around the late 1990s. They are usually 3/4 inch long and have a distinct shield (or triangle) shape. As the name suggests, brown marmorated stink bugs are often grayish-brown in color.
Stink bugs release a foul odor — often likened to a cilantro and coriander blend — that’s produced in a gland on their abdomen when they feel threatened. Although they don’t bite, you don’t want your house to smell bad. Stink bugs can also damage your garden by piercing and sucking juice from plants.
Stink bugs are often confused with boxelder bugs, partially because they’re similarly shaped, and they both release a smelly odor but are otherwise harmless to humans. However, boxelder bugs are easy to identify by their red or orange markings.
Unlike mice infestations, which can be identified by noises and markings, a stink bug infestation is a bit more difficult to confirm.
According to Chad Gore, entomologist and market technical director for Terminix, it can be hard to know whether you have a true infestation until the fall, when temperatures drop and stink bugs start trying to find protected places to wait out the winter — this is known as overwintering.
“When they begin their overwintering behavior, you may see large aggregations of them on the warm sides of buildings,” Gore said. “Once there, they will crawl up a structure until they find a crevice or hole to enter buildings and homes.”
Once a stink bug finds a suitable place to overwinter, it releases an aggregation pheromone that attracts other stink bugs to that area, according to David Price, associate certified entomologist and director of technical services at Mosquito Joe.
Stink bugs are generally attracted to the following:
Once you’ve identified stink bugs in your home, you’ll want to come up with a game plan on how to get rid of them. Unlike termite infestations, stink bug infestations can be treated with DIY methods, although a severe infestation will be better handled by a professional.
According to our experts, the best way to get rid of stink bugs is to vacuum them. “When the stink bugs are sucked into the vacuum cleaner, their scent will be contained in a small area,” Wang said. “After they’re all inside the vacuum, immediately throw out the bag or empty the contents outside.”
You can also eliminate stink bugs using a spray bottle filled with dish soap and water. “It would be possible to get rid of them as the dish soap would clog their trachea or what we consider as lungs to an insect,” Price said. “Additionally, it would have to be a generous direct hit.”
You can spread this powder around stink bug entry points. When stink bugs walk through the sharp organic material, it cuts through their exoskeletons, which causes them to dehydrate and die.
Stink bugs generally enter the home through entryways, whether that’s tiny cracks and openings in the walls or through windowsills. According to Price, it’s imperative to seal these areas and make sure they have no contact with the outside. He added that you can install screened windows and doors and regularly check for window screen tears — and you can seal AC or plumbing lines, or gas line gaps, with plumber’s putty.
If you haven’t had much success with DIY methods, then consider reaching out to one of the top pest control companies.
“They will identify entry points and make recommendations to prevent future infestations,” Wang said. “Once the infestation is under control, they’ll deploy a combination of removal and professional-grade insecticides, pesticides and repellents with the least impact on the environment.”
A professional understands the critters’ biology and knows the common crawl spaces where large numbers of stink bugs usually seek shelter, so they can help homeowners address areas that might have gone unnoticed.
Stink bugs seek shelter from the cold weather by hiding in warm places in the household. They succeed in hibernation by entering through small cracks, holes and crevices. Therefore, sealing off those openings is key.
According to Price, here are some ways to prevent stink bug infestations:
Additionally, you can repel stink bugs with essential oils. Some oils they avoid include spearmint, clove and lemongrass.
Determine the extent of your stink bug problem before deciding how to proceed. If you don’t think there’s a severe infestation, try using DIY methods to remove the stink bugs when you first notice them.
For more widespread and recurring infestations, you’ll want to contact a pest control company for professional advice and service options.
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