Keeping Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs Out Of Your House
Sometime during the mid-1990s, a small insect known as the brown marmorated stink bug stowed away on a Japanese ship and emerged in the rural heart of Pennsylvania. Since then, this voracious pest has spread to at least 40 states around the nation, becoming a particular pest control nuisance in agricultural areas. Stink bugs destroy a variety of valuable crops in the summer and then hide indoors for winter, spreading their noxious smell wherever they go. By following these practical steps, you can keep stink bugs out of your home and remove any that manage to sneak inside.
Discouraging Stink Bugs
Brown marmorated stink bugs prefer to feed on fruits, vegetables and grains, and so they are typically most concentrated around farms, orchards and large gardens. You may notice them on trees, in shrubs or resting on the wall of your house in summer. Once the weather gets cooler, stink bugs search for a warm shelter, and they can slip through even the tiniest of cracks to reach it. Seal up the exterior of your house and apply caulk around your doors and windows to repel them. Do not leave those windows and doors open without a screen, and check your attic for any drafty holes. It may be impossible to completely protect your home, but you can drastically reduce the number of stink bugs who make it indoors.
Finding Stink Bugs
Some households never realize that they have unwelcome guests overwintering around them. Stink bugs spend the cold months sitting still in dark crannies, neither eating nor breeding and staying as quiet as possible. On warm days, however, they will begin to stir and make themselves known; you may notice a foul, musty odor or see them flying into windows. Once you spot a stink bug, begin looking for the others by investigating behind furniture, under sinks and anywhere else a bug could wedge itself. Stink bugs sometimes clump together in small colonies, but they often scatter, making it very difficult to find every insect.
Disposing of Stink Bugs
Their elusive nature and physical resilience mean that brown marmorated stink bugs can be almost impossible to eradicate on your own. Killing stink bugs by squashing them is tempting, but the noxious fluid they emit will simply make your house smell worse. Instead, wrap the bugs in toilet paper and flush them down the toilet for safer disposal. If you are facing a substantial infestation that needs a more thorough solution, you are better off calling in professional pest control experts to assess the extent of your problem and choose the most comprehensive strategy. They will not only be able to rid you of your current invaders, but also teach you how to prevent their presence in the future. Call a company like Heritage Pest Control for more information.
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