Stink Bug Season Arrives In Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, PA - With autumn’s arrival comes the arrival of stink bugs in the home. As the weather turns colder, the pests begin leaving fields in search of warmer places to live during the winter.

The Penn State Department of Etymology describes stink bugs as “an important agricultural pest” in Pennsylvania, capable of producing severe losses in apple and peach orchards across the state. But you’re probably more concerned about keeping them out of your home.

The etymology department advises sealing cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes, behind chimneys, and underneath the wood fascia and other openings with quality caulk. Damaged screens on doors and windows should be repaired or replaced.

Applying insecticides could provide minor relief. But because they are broken down by sunlight over time, they might not kill the insects much beyond several days or a week.

Bayer recommends these methods for keeping stink bugs away:

• Rub screens with dryer sheets – the more pungent the better. Some homeowners have found this can reduce stink bugs entering a home by up to 80 percent.
• Hang a damp towel over a lawn chair or deck railing overnight. In the morning, stink bugs will blanket the towel. Dispatch bugs in a bucket of soapy water.
• Squish a few stink bugs outdoors. The odor warns other stink bugs to flee.

If stink bugs do invade your home, both live and dead stink bugs can be removed from interior areas with a vacuum cleaner. But the vacuum may might acquire the distinctive rotting cherries-like smell of the pests.

It’s possible to kill them by leaving out a straight-sided container filled with soapy water in which they will drown. Shining a light on the container will help attract the bugs to their doom.

Photo: Dldebertin via Creative Commons.