How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs Before They Become a Problem, According to Experts

5 min read

Stink bugs are unpleasant house pests that often find their way indoors through open windows, gaps around pipes, and cracks in walls. Once they get inside, they tend to appear in large numbers, making it seem like they invade all at once. While they don't pose a dire threat to people, pets, or property, getting rid of them can be frustrating. Their name comes from the strong, unpleasant odor they release when crushed.

Although squashing insects is a common way to eliminate household bugs, it's the last thing you should do with stink bugs because of the smell they emit. To learn the most effective ways to remove them and stop future infestations, we turned to Chad Gore, Ph.D., an entomologist and market technical director at Terminix.

"It's sometimes difficult to prevent a stink bug infestation," Gore says. "Because of this, it's important to hire a professional to help you determine your risk, identify opportunities for sealing the building and excluding stink bugs, and treating the building with insecticides at the right time of year to reduce the likelihood they'll bother you in the winter and early spring."

Below, you'll find expert advice on eliminating stink bugs and keeping them from returning. From simple home maintenance tasks to natural deterrents, these methods can also help protect your home from other common pests, including fruit flies, house flies, and cockroaches.

There are many types of stink bugs in the United States, but the kind that usually comes inside your house is the brown marmorated stink bug. They're an invasive species that originated in East Asia and was accidentally introduced in Pennsylvania in the late 1990s, according to Penn State Extension. Since then, the shield-shaped, winged bugs have spread across the country. They can't do structural damage to your home, but they can damage your plants and potentially trigger your allergies.

Stink bugs are attracted by warmth, food, light, and moisture. Like pretty much any living organism, stink bugs are simply looking for what they need to survive. You'll likely notice stink bugs in your house when the weather starts to cool in the fall and early winter. They'll look for any opening to get in.

You may feel compelled to, but don't step on or crush stink bugs the way you might other creepy-crawlies. Remember, getting smashed is what releases their revolting stench. You can trap a stink bug in a cup (just put it on top and slide a piece of paper underneath) and release it outside, or sweep or vacuum them up. If you use a vacuum cleaner, just make sure to replace the vacuum bag and throw the used one out or empty the dust bin right away.

"One of the biggest mistakes made when dealing with stink bugs is waiting until they're already inside to try and do anything about them. By the time they're inside, it's too late," Gore explains.

Seal Entry Points

It's probably difficult to figure out where exactly the bugs are coming in, but that's exactly why you should seal off any and all potential entry points. It could be a screen window or door, a crack in the countertop, or really any hole or niche. Stink bugs can squeeze into very small spaces. According to Orkin, they most often sneak in through "cracks, crevices, gaps, and holes in foundations, window and door frames, soffits, attics, and underneath siding."

Reinforcing these areas with clear silicone is a must. Pay extra attention to entry areas near fruit trees, gardens, or other agricultural hot spots since they tend to attract stink bugs.

Protect With Insecticide

Sometimes, the only way to truly prevent insects is with a chemical deterrent. Gore recommends consulting a professional to determine the most at-risk areas of your home—usually windows, exterior doors, crawl spaces, and attics—and line those spaces with an insecticide at the end of the summer to try to avoid the bugs coming inside to escape the dropping temperatures.

"Spraying insecticides might kill some as they emerge from attics, around fixtures, or from wall voids (assuming you've been lucky enough to guess accurately where they crawl out of and they walk across the material)," Gore says. If you really want to get rid of stink bugs, though, you need to treat the exterior of your home in the fall.

"The best approach is to target them in the fall on the outside of a building. This means applying residual insecticides to the exterior of a building, to the cracks and crevices they may try to enter (gaps around windows and doors, under fascia, gaps in soffit, attic vents, chimneys, around utility penetrations, etc.)."

Tidy Up the Kitchen

If you've just been using chip clips, you might want to reassess and switch to airtight food storage containers. Food attracts stink bugs just like other pests. The goal is to make it harder for stink bugs to survive and thrive once they're in your home, so eliminating their access to food will make it less appealing to them. Trust us, you don't want to find a stink bug in your brown rice or tortilla chips.

Keep Moisture Levels Down

Super-humid places with water buildup or poor ventilation are breeding grounds for stink bugs. Moisture attracts stink bugs, too. So dry it up, whether that means investing in a great dehumidifier or fixing a leaky faucet. You can also temporarily tape over any emergency drainage points if you think the bugs are coming in through the drain.

Turn Off the Lights at Night

Like most insects, stink bugs are drawn to lights. If you keep your porch light (or any light for that matter, once they make their way inside) on after dark, they'll flock to it. The simple answer? Turn off the lights or put them on a motion-detection timer so they turn on only when someone walks by—that's more energy efficient and cost-effective anyway.

Why Do Stink Bugs Come Indoors?

Like any creature, stink bugs can't survive the winter cold, so they search for a warmer place to wait the season out.

"The arrival of cool weather triggers them to search for someplace to spend the winter," Gore explains. "In the spring, stink bugs that passed through the winter successfully and are able to leave their overwintering habitat will be attracted to plants of many varieties (host plants) in order to lay their eggs. This gives the newly emerged (hatched) insects a head start by starting life out on a plant they can feed from."

Can You Have a Stink Bug Infestation?

Infestation might be the wrong word. Stink bugs aren't like ants or bedbugs that can cause damage; they're mostly just a nuisance.

"If you do find that you have a lot of stink bugs outside, then it's important to hire a professional to help you determine how best to treat and where on your home/building needs to be sealed up," Gore says. "The best prevention is to exclude them and make it difficult for them to get inside. If you've missed the opportunity to seal them out and find yourself with a lot of stink bugs inside, then it's best to vacuum them up and discard the vacuum contents."

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