Stink Bug Season: 10 Ways to Get Rid of the Pests

As everyone shakes off the cold, damp spring and gets ready for summer, a perennial pest is doing the same thing.

Stink bugs – given the apt nickname because of the musty scent the emit when frightened or squashed by humans – are emerging from their winter hibernation.

You’ve probably seen them crawling on your screens or fluttering around your house’s windows. You can’t crush them, because they expel that nasty smell as a defense.

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 experts.

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

The pests’ numbers are culled significantly if we have a hot summer. If we don’t, expect an influx come fall as they try to keep warm inside your house.

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.