Stink Bugs Crawling Into Virginia Homes: How To Get Rid Of Them

VIRGINIA — Stink bugs are crawling into houses all over Virginia right now. The odoriferous brigade of smelly brown bugs is just itching to set up camp before winter.

The bugs, which give off a foul odor as a defense mechanism against predators, can be found all across the country, including right here in Virginia.

Despite having piercing, sucking mouthparts — tiny shields about a half-inch long and wide, which they curiously tuck between their legs when they’re not piercing and sucking the juice from plants — they can’t bite you. They can’t sting you, and they won’t reproduce.

They tend to attack seeds, nuts and fruit, including peaches, apples, tomatoes, green peppers, soybeans and pecans. Some stink bug species are predators, but they eat other bugs.

But P.U., do stink bugs smell bad if you smash them. Hence, their name. So don’t do that.

That doesn’t mean you have to live with the disgusting little bugs. We have some tips on what to do if stink bugs have holed up in your house. One important thing to know about stink bugs as move in for the winter: they’re more than just a bad smell. They can be pretty destructive in other ways.

Scientists have waged all-out war against stink bugs, with good reason. What they can do with those piercing, sucking mouthparts to an apple, peach or pear orchard isn’t pretty and can wipe out a grower’s entire crop.

Stink bugs have been found in 44 states in the 20 years since the insect, indigenous to East Asia, was first detected in the United States, according to a USDA-funded Stop the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug strike force that includes more than 50 researchers working at 18 land-grant universities across the country.

Stink bugs like to feast on your vegetable gardens, farmers’ soybean crops, and black locust, maple, ash, and catalpa trees. They like cherries and raspberries, too.

In Virginia, Stop the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug’s surveillance shows it is a severe agricultural nuisance.

Your best defense against stink bugs is to arm yourself weather-stripping, caulking and tape and make your home a fortress. Seal up gaps and crevices around foundations and any area where doors, windows, chimneys and utility pipes are cut into the exterior. Any opening large enough for a stink bug to crawl through should be sealed.

A group of researchers from Virginia Tech University conducted a study that found that all you need is a pan of water and a light to attract the 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 trap eliminated 14 times more stink bugs than store-bought traps that cost up to $50, the study found. The homemade model is comparatively cheap — roasting pan, dish soap, light — and homeowners might already own the components.

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 an odor release.

The best thing to do if you find them inside is gently sweep them into a bucket, then fill it with a couple of inches of soapy water. You could vacuum them up, but perhaps as a last resort because it will trigger stink bugs’ notorious odor and make your vacuum cleaner smell bad.

Companies like Rest Easy Pest Control recommend a special stink bug vacuum, a cheap, handheld model used only for that chore. The bag should be tossed in a thick, disposable trash bag and taken far from the house.

Poison can quickly kill the stink bugs, but that will also trigger their stench. Professional extermination is another option.

Or, if you can bear the thought of living communally with them inside your home, you could just leave them alone and hope no one frightens them and stirs up a stinky ruckus. They don’t nest or lay eggs. They don’t don’t feed on anything or anyone in your house. They’re just there taking a load off for a few months, resting up.

Come spring, they’ll crawl right back outside in time to take a bite out of your garden, and for the war on stink bugs to begin anew.

Written by Beth Dalbey of Patch’s national staff.