It's Stink Bug Season: Here's How to Get Rid of Them

As the weather begins to get cooler in October, critters begin to look for warmer digs. And one of the worst such critters? Stink bugs. According to exterminator experts, stink bugs can easily sneak into your home through small cracks and openings in chimneys, door and window frames, air conditioning units, attic vents and holes in a home's foundation.

Think you need some expensive, complicated way to get rid of them?

A group of researchers from Virginia Tech conducted a study two years ago and found that you really don’t need a fancy contraption. All you need is a pan of water and a light to attract them to their doom, according to their study.

If you see a stink bug, you know their friends and family can't be far behind. Here's how to roll up the welcome mat:

1. A large pan (an aluminum foil one if you want to toss it, because honestly, who wants to reuse a pan that’s had bugs floating in it?).
2. Water and dish soap
3. A light to attract the bugs

The Virginia Tech team has proven that homemade, inexpensive stink bug traps crafted from simple household items outshine pricier models designed to kill the invasive, annoying bugs, according to the news release from the university.

Researchers from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences found that the best way to get rid of the little buggers: Just fill a foil roasting pan with water and dish soap and put a light over the pan to attract the bugs in a dark room.

The trap eliminated 14 times more stink bugs than store-bought traps that cost up to $50, the study found. The only price of the homemade model is the cost of a roasting pan, dish soap, and a light — all which homeowners may already own.

By the way, a stink bug’s ability to emit an odor through holes in its abdomen is a defense mechanism, meant to prevent it from being eaten by birds and lizards. Simply handling the bug, injuring it, or attempting to move it can trigger it to release the odor.

Seeing any stink bugs at your house?

PHOTO of stink bug courtesy of Minnesota Department of Agriculture