There are very few types of insects as disgusting, both aesthetically and in their habits, as stink bugs, and if you have a stink bug infestation (much as if you had an infestation of fruit flies!), I know that how to get rid of stink bugs is high on your list of priorities right now!

What Are Stink Bugs?

Actually, there is no such thing as a “stink bug” per se. There are many different species of insect which are commonly referred to as stink bugs because there their glands emit a noxious odor as a defense mechanism. However, it really isn\’t a highly critical distinction, as the methods for dealing with all the types of bugs commonly referred to as stink bugs are the same. So, from a practical standpoint, they may as well be all one species!

How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs – Prevention

The most efficient way to deal with the stink bug infestation is actually to cut it off at the source. Figure out where the stink bugs are entering your home and plug up those holes. If you can\’t catch them as they are actually entering your home, don\’t worry. In that case it merely becomes a matter of locating all of the holes in your foundations and walls which would be large enough for the stink bugs to enter through and plugging them. This may seem like a daunting task. However, it\’s not as if stink bugs are the size of gnats. There are a limited number of places where they could potentially be entering your dwelling. Once all of those are patched, then there is no possible way that they could continue to get it.

There are several different methods you can use for plugging the holes that the stink bugs might be entering through. One of the simplest ways is to simply use caulk to plug the holes. Caulk is inexpensive and widely available, at any home improvement store. It is also extremely simple and straightforward to apply. In fact, it involves little more than pointing the applicator and where you want to apply the caulk and pulling the trigger, then waiting for it to dry.

Other options for plugging the points of entry include applying weatherstripping and covering larger holes, especially when they appear in the foundation of your home, with wire mesh. However, using wire mash, the important point to keep in mind is that you choose a gauge of wire which is small enough that the stink bugs cannot enter through the holes.

How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs – Methods

There are several different methods you can use to actually get rid of stink bugs, aside from merely preventing them from entering your home. Once they are inside your home, that ship has sailed. Now they are in there and they need to be dealt with.

How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs – Insecticidal Barrier Spray Outside Your Home

one of the options is to put down an insecticidal barrier spray outside of your home. This accomplishes creating a barrier around your main dwelling past which the stink bugs cannot survive. As with any time that you are using chemical insecticides, you want to be extremely careful. Make sure you are using the type which is appropriate for the area of your property in which you are using it. The same type of insecticide is not suitable for every area of your yard, and for every application.

How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs – Sticky Traps

sticky insect traps, which are somewhat like flytrap except for they don\’t hang in the air but rather are set on a flat surface, can be extremely effective for catching stink bugs. These are the most effective when you have some idea where the largest concentration of the insects are, or you have some idea where they might be entering the home. The reason for this is that the sticky traps do not contain any kind of attractant which will make the stink bugs want to step onto the sticky traps, but rather rely on the stink bugs needing to walk across them organically.

How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs – Vacuum Cleaner

when you come across a stink bug in your home, meaning you actually physically see it with your own eyes and not just the evidence that it is been there, you should grab your vacuum cleaner and suck it up into the vacuum cleaner. While there is no incentive in this method to keep other stink bugs away, it is a safe and effective way of disposing of the stink bugs that enter your home.

How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs – Don\’t Crush Them!

Remember, there is a reason why stink bugs have the name that they have. It\’s not by accident that they\’re called stink bugs. When you see a stink bug, do not crush it. Do not give into that visceral human instinct to step on a bug when you see one. You definitely won\’t like the results. Rather, grab your vacuum cleaner and dispose of it that way. It\’s much less smelly!

How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs – Light Traps

Lastly, stink bugs are attracted to light. For this reason, you can use light traps, which are sold in any home improvement store, as an effective way of ridding your home of stink bugs. Again, this does not serve as a deterrent for additional stink bugs to come into your home. For that, you need to actually locate their point of entry and repair it so as to cut off their access to your home. However, as a method to get rid of the stink bugs which have already entered your home, light traps are a relatively inexpensive and extremely effective way to get rid of the infestation in your home.

How to get rid of stink bugs is not an easy proposition. They are stubborn, and once they have found their way into your home, they do not want to leave. However, with the methods outlined above, you are not a total loss as to how to get rid of stink bugs — but rather, you are armed with effective and affordable tools.