You’re no stranger to a lot of stink bugs appearing inside your home out of nowhere during the spring.
These bugs not only emit a stench, but also they can bite.
Denying stink bugs an entry into your home is a key to prevent a stink bug infestation that can cost you dear.
So, what are those entry points that you don’t know? And how and when stink bugs use them?
Keep reading to find out.
7 Sneaky Ways Stink Bugs Use To Get In Your House
Stink bugs get inside the house through any gap or crack they can find on your home’s walls, doors, and windows.
The seven common entry points for stink bugs to get inside your house are –
1. Through the cracks in the door frames and walls
2. Through the gaps in window frames and window sills
3. Through open doors and windows
4. Through the utility pipes
5. Through the vents in the attic
6. Bringing inside potted plants, firewood, and anything with stink bugs
7. Through the crevices on home’s foundation, walls, and roof
Light fixtures also play a significant role in drawing stink bugs to your home and property.
Stink bugs are phototaxis bugs. It means that stink bugs use light sources for their navigation.
That’s why the reflecting light from the water bodies in homes, like swimming pools, fountains, and ponds, attract stink bugs.
And when stink bugs are in your yard or garden, they’ll follow the light source from your home’s interiors to get inside your home.
How To Stop Stink Bugs From Entering Your House?
Sealing the gaps and cracks on your home’s walls is the first step to preventing stink bugs from entering your home.
Stink bugs gather on the sunny side of your home’s exterior walls during the late fall months.
That’s when they discover those gaps and cracks existing on your home’s walls to enter homes.
The second step is to find the cracks in the window frames, sills, and door frames and caulk them with a reliable sealant.
Use a silicone-based to caulk those gaps. Silicone sealants are sturdy, waterproof, and durable; bugs can’t chew through them.
Light from your home attracts the stink bugs inside. So, stink bugs will gather near the windows in the evening, trying to make their way inside your home.
So, the third step to stop stink bugs from entering the house is to use weather stripping to close the gap between the window frames and sills.
You can also use door strips to cover the gap between the door and the floor. Stink bugs, and other bugs like roaches and ants, exploit the gap between the door and the floor to enter homes.
The attic, bathroom, and kitchen vents can also be the entry points for stink bugs.
Use screens with fine mesh on the vents in these places to stop them from entering your home.
Many things attract stink bugs to your home and property. One of them is a lush green garden with ornamental plants and fruit trees.
However, the most important factor that draws stink bugs inside homes is the light from your house.
So, the final step to stop stink bugs from entering the house is to use light bulbs that don’t attract bugs.
Install sodium vapor light bulbs in places like doorways, terraces, and patio decks. These sodium vapor lights don’t draw bugs, flies, and moths.
What To Do With Stink Bugs Inside Your House?
If there are stink bugs inside your home, use a vacuum cleaner to remove them.
Then dispose of the vacuum dust bag far from your property.
But don’t try to smash the stink bugs. The stink bugs release a nasty odor when you squish them.
They also produce that odor to defend themselves when they feel threatened.
The odor on the surface is very hard to eliminate. It can remain there for days before it goes away after regular cleaning. So, squashing the stink bugs will be a bad idea.
Look for stink bugs in places like the attic, wall voids, underneath furniture, and any cluttered places inside your home.
Stink bugs hide in these places during the fall and winter months inside the house.
You can use a stink bug killer spray to kill stink bugs hiding in these places and in outdoors too.
Alternatively, you can keep sticky bug baits to lure out any hiding stink bugs and entrap them.
Why Are There Stink Bugs In The House In Winter?
The only reason stink bugs get inside your home during the winter months is to overwinter.
Stink bugs become dormant during the winter months. And when they do, they do it in warm places to safely spend the entire winter season.
That makes the stink bugs seek shelter in human homes and are one of the many winter bugs that enter homes.
Like the spiders, stink bugs will look for places where there are human footfalls so that they can spend the winter without getting noticed or disturbed.
That makes them hide in wall voids and cluttered places like the attic, garage, and storage rooms.
Stink bugs come out of their overwintering sites and try to make their way out of your home.
So, you suddenly notice many stink bugs inside the house in the spring months.
Many homeowners notice stink bugs inside their houses in the spring months despite closed doors and windows.
That’s a similar situation with wasps too. When wasps come out of overwintering from the places inside the home, many homeowners notice wasps inside homes despite no wasp nests around.
What Do Stink Bugs Eat Inside The House?
Nothing. Stink bugs don’t eat anything inside your house. They don’t cause any damage or infestation either.
Stink bugs enter homes in the winter months to overwinter. And while doing so, stink bugs don’t eat or lay eggs.
When they come out of overwintering in the spring, stink bugs move out of your home, eating and breeding.
Summary
Stink bugs get inside your house during the late fall and winter months to overwinter. Stink bugs get inside your house through the following entry points –
- Through the cracks in the door frames and walls
- Through the gaps in window frames and window sills
- Through open doors and windows
- Through the utility pipes
- Through the vents in the attic
- Bringing inside potted plants, firewood, or anything that has stink bugs
- Through the cervices on home’s foundation, walls, and roof
The light from the light bulbs also plays a significant role in drawing stink bugs inside your house.
However, stink bugs inside your house don’t cause any damage or infestation. They’re there to overwinter and move out when spring arrives.
Dr. Thomas Orbert is a PhD in Entomology with extensive research experience in ectoparasites and microbials. He has also worked in the spaces of ecology conservation and has multiple years of experience in field research and scientific publishing.