Stink Bugs Are Back: How To Trap And Kill The Pests

DES MOINES, IA. -- As cooler fall weather moves across the state, a small pest first seen in Iowa six years ago also is on the move. This is the time to take steps to keep stink bugs out of your house.

Stink bugs – given the apt nickname because of the musty scent they emit when frightened or squashed by people – are very active in the fall as they try to crawl their way into your house seeking a place to wait out cold weather.

While stink bugs don't bite or eat anything inside your home, they are a nuisance. If they make it indoors, the pests will head toward the attic and nest in old newspapers or clothes, waiting to emerge in the spring.

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Experts say some easy tasks may keep them outside.

• Remove window air-conditioners as soon as weather cools to the point they are no longer needed.
• Seal cracks around windows and doors (also a good step to prevent winter drafts) using a high-quality silicone or silicone-latex caulk or weather-stripping material.
• Repair broken screens and windows.
• Check for cracks or openings under and around siding and wood fascia, along utility pipes and behind chimneys, says USA Today.
• Rub screens with dryer sheets, the more pungent the better, says Bayer Advanced insect control. Some homeowners have found this can reduce stink bugs entering a home by up to 80 percent.
• Hang a damp towel outdoors overnight. In the morning, stink bugs will blanket the towel and you can brush them into a bucket of soapy water.
• Squish stink bugs outdoors to release their odor and warn other stink bugs to flee.

Whatever you do, don't smash the bugs indoors or you'll be left with their odor. The bugs move slowly and are easy to catch and release outdoors, and another simple way to remove them if they have entered your home is to use a vacuum cleaner to suck them up, Bayer Advanced says.

Stink bugs traps are available commercially and can cost up to $50, but a group of researchers from Virginia Tech University conducted a study that found instead of a fancy contraption, all you need are three items to draw stink bugs to their doom.

The necessary supplies:

• 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?)
• Water and dish soap
• A light to attract the bugs

The Virginia Tech team proved the homemade, inexpensive stink bug traps eliminated 14 times more stink bugs than store-bought traps. Researchers from the university's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences said simply fill the pan with water and dish soap, and put a light over the pan to attract the bugs in a dark room.

Stink bugs, which have a brown, shield-like body, were first discovered in the eastern United States in 1998, according to the Iowa State University Extension Office. The bugs made it to Iowa in 2011 and as of last year had invaded 19 counties in the state.

The bugs feed on fruit trees, ornamental plants, vegetables and legumes, and are common throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, especially in the fall, according to experts.

Two varieties of stink bugs have moved into Iowa and a few similar-looking pests also are fall home and garden invaders, the ISU Extension Office reports. On its website you can learn how to differentiate the brown stink bug from the brown marmorated stink bug and check out others that look similar: the spined soldier bug, Western pine seed bug and the squash bug.

— Includes reporting by Patch Editor Kara Seymour

Pixabay photo: Stink bugs are active in the fall.