How To Get Rid of Stink Bugs

The end of the summer means the return of the dreaded stink bug. Here’s what you need to know to get rid of stink bugs and keep them out of your home.

Seeking Shelter

As temperatures drop, stink bugs begin to seek shelter through windows, doors, and unsealed cracks. Once inside your home, these pests enter a state of hibernation, though it’s not uncommon to see adult stink bugs active in the winter and early spring, especially if warm weather comes early. Within recent years, the temperatures have been steadily climbing and winters have become shorter. This is why you’ve probably noticed that, year after year, there’s been a gradual increase in the number of stink bugs around your home.

Are stink bugs are threat to children or pets?

Despite being annoying and having a distinct, pungent odor, stink bugs are harmless to humans and animals. The don’t bite or sting, nor do they carry any nasty diseases like ticks or mosquitoes.

How to get rid of stink bugs

To tackle stink bugs on your own, simply vacuum up the little critters and then toss the vacuum bag with the pests inside (to keep them from re-entering your home and to trap the bugs’ odor).

The best course of action to get rid of stink bugs to be proactive and prevent them in the first place. Make sure you seal up your home now, before bugs have a chance to crawl in. Replace old, holey screens and ensure doors and windows are kept tightly closed. Caulk any gaps, cracks, or holes in the exterior of your home.

Protect your plants

While they’re harmless to humans and pets, stink bugs are unfortunately quite destructive to plants and agriculture. They can feed on hundreds of different plant types and are attracted to fruit trees (especially apple and pear), soybeans, berry plants, corn fields, tomatoes, lima beans, and green peppers.

Once the bugs have found their way into your plants, they can’t be killed by spraying. They’ll fly off off the leaves and they aren’t harmed by eating chemicals that are placed directly on fruit or leaves.

If you need help to get rid of stink bugs in or around your home, don’t hesitate to call go2-pros pest control to help get the job done right! Our extermination experts are standing by to help stomp out stink bugs.