Reply
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,506
Registered: ‎03-20-2012

First of all--don't use a vacuum because it will have to be thrown away. It won't kill them if it isn't a Dyson and a Dyson will pulverize them. The smell is awful.

We had a horrible stink bug problem and what got rid of most of them were the Dynatraps that I purchased. It must have reduced the problem by 80%.

Nest...check for the food source. Do you have fruit trees on your property or berry vines. They love those two items. If you don't want to get rid of them then place a Dynatrap near that spot.

There are also Stink Bug traps that I've seen at the hardware store that seem to work. I would add that to the Dynatrap purchase.

Our lot is irregular so you need to cover your entire area of use.

Hope you get some relief from these ideas. 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,984
Registered: ‎03-19-2010

We live in SW PA and it was probably about 8 years ago that we got invaded by stink bugs. If I remember correctly they appear during their mating season in Spring as the weather starts to warm up.  Then they disappear for a while and return in the early fall to find a place to overwinter.  The first few years were really awful.   However now, we get very few.  

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,105
Registered: ‎03-28-2010
The stink bugs are only outside. By my kitchen windows and above that towards third floor of house I can see a few way up there. I was surprised when I called the exterminators & they said to vacuum them up. Didn’t sound right to me. I’d never do that. I don’t know what their food source is there. Nothing is there. The closest plants are 3 gardenia plants & 2 large hydrangeas. Thank you for the suggestions of dynatrap. I plan on going to hardware store tomorrow.
Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,105
Registered: ‎03-28-2010
I tried the garlic today. Didn’t work too well.
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,575
Registered: ‎06-13-2011

Here in my area of the PNW we have a problem with the Boxelder bugs.    They started to appear about three years ago.   As soon as the weather warms up they start to gather on the sunny side of our house.    

 

My husband tried a strong pesticide that really did very little and was very expensive.  

 

After searching all over the internet for any kind of a solution he finally found some information from the Dept of Ag in Utah that recommended using a garden sprayer filled with a mixture of water and Dawn dishwashing detergent.   

 

It's only a temporary solution because they do return but it's amazing to see how quickly they drop and die almost immediately as soon as the detergent mixture hits them.  The detergent mixture supposedly dehydrates them.

 

Fortunately I've only had a few that have made their way inside but when I see them I either pick them up with a tissue or else vacuum them up with a hand vac.  You don't want to squeeze them with a bare hand because the smell they emit is horrible.

 

At least they aren't destructive to trees or your house but they sure are disgusting.  

 

What I read is that they first appeared in Oregon as few years ago and then made their way into our area.    But who really knows where they came from.  I just wish they could develop something that would eliminate them once and for all.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,427
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@x Hedge wrote:

@Caffeina wrote:

boxelder.jpeg

These are boxelder bugs.

http://npic.orst.edu/pest/boxelder.html


Good ID @Caffeina .  Thank you. I like to know what I'm stompin' on  😁.


 

These are what started showing up on my garage door a few yrs ago!

 

Tons of them....we never had them before.  The yr prior we had our home painted...and I selected a lighter shade to go on the garage doors.  Ever since then...these nasty bugs are all over it!  It is the side of our home that gets a ton of sun...from 1pm until evening....just roasting in summer.  I read online they like to sunbath!!!  Also they try to get in your home in late fall (which is when they show up at my house) to nest for the winter YUK!

 

I have sprayed bug killer on my garage doors...they usually die and some just disappear.  I also spray my side door and any cracks so they get killed.  Never had one inside.

 

I hate them with a passion...I just want them dead.  I am thinking of painting the garage doors a deeper color to see if they don't visit my home anymore.  

Super Contributor
Posts: 494
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@tsavorite An exterminator told me that stink bugs are attracted to white & light colors. His experience was the calls he was going out on were almost exclusively light colored homes.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,168
Registered: ‎03-14-2010
So far, we have not had any stink bugs, but hope our luck holds! I wonder if there is a plant that can repel them...might be worth researching. Our biggest problem has been fire ants after the heavy rains..
Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,168
Registered: ‎03-14-2010
I think they are prob just more visible on lighter colored areas, but those would be cooler than black or darker colors.....which absorb heat.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,040
Registered: ‎09-12-2010

@Kachina624, no, they're not just a Pennsylvania problem. I live in the St. Louis (Missouri) area and put up with them every day. I don't have hoards of them, but find a few of them throughout my town house. Ugly darn bugs!