Stink Bugs Are Back In MD: How To Get Rid Of Them

MARYLAND — With cool fall weather setting in, the pesky brown marmorated stink bug will try to set up winter quarters in your house, which one Maryland bug expert says looks just like a giant tree to the insect. This is the time to take steps to keep stink bugs outdoors. Given the apt nickname because of the musty scent they emit when frightened or squashed by people, stink bugs are active in the fall as they try to crawl their way indoors.

In just a couple of decades, the brown marmorated sting bug has spread to 41 states, including Maryland, says Pests.org. Residents in and around the Washington, D.C. area have noted the most problems with stink bugs. While they don't cause structural damage like termites, if you smell something in your house similar to coriander, it means you have an infestation of large numbers.

Studies have shown the bugs prefer darker colored homes, which have natural siding, like wood or cement. “People who live in homes that are found in rural, forested areas are much more likely to have stink bug invasions,” University of Maryland entomologist Mike Raupp told WTOP.

Sealing every last crevice in the foundation and around windows and doors will at least slow down the dread stink bugs crawling into your house. Stink bugs have piercing, sucking mouthparts — which they curiously tuck between their legs when they're not piercing and sucking the juice out of plants — but as scary as that sounds, they can't use their needle-like mouths to bite you. And they can't sting. It's just not their thing. But they smell if you smash them, so don't do that.

This is the time to do chores around the house to keep them outside, say experts. While stink bugs don't bite or eat anything inside a home, they are a nuisance. If they make it inside, the pests will head toward the attic and nest in old newspapers or clothes, then emerge in the spring.

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To prevent another battle with the bugs in the spring, you should remove your window air-conditioner as soon as the heat is over, seal cracks around windows and doors (also a good step to prevent winter drafts), and repair broken screens and windows. Use a high-quality silicone or silicone-latex caulk this fall to seal all cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes, behind chimneys and underneath the wood fascia and other openings, says USA Today.

If you find them inside, gently sweep them into a bucket, then fill it with a couple of inches of soapy water. Or, you can add soapy water to a shop vacuum canister and then suck them up, which doesn't sound like nearly as much fun for the stink bug as the lethal bubble bath.

Homeowners don't need an expensive, complicated way to get rid of them. A group of researchers from Virginia Tech University conducted a study that found that instead of a fancy contraption, all you need is a pan of water and a light to draw stink 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 Virginia Tech team has proven that homemade, inexpensive stink bug traps crafted from simple household items outshine pricier models designed to kill the invasive, annoying bugs.

Researchers from the university's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences found the best way to get rid of the little buggers: Just fill a foil roasting pan with water and dish soap, and put a light over the pan to attract the bugs in a dark room.

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.

Stink bugs, which have a brown, shield-like body, were first discovered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 2001, according to the University of Maryland entomology bulletin. They feed on fruit trees, ornamental plants, vegetables and legumes, and are common throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, especially in the fall.

Here are other ways to get rid of stink bugs:

• Use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the bugs.

• Cut the top of a half gallon or gallon jug, fill it with soapy water and use a piece of cardboard or a napkin to whisk the bugs into the water, which will drown them.

• Plant or move fruit trees and vegetable gardens, especially tomato plants, away from your home to prevent stink bugs from landing on the exterior of your home. -UMD HGIC.

• Squish stink bugs outdoors--the odor warns other stink bugs to flee. - Bayer Advanced insect control.

• Hang a stink bug trap outside your house to catch them. - UMD Bug Guy, Mike Raupp, YouTube.

• Hang a damp towel outside your home overnight. In the morning, stink bugs will blanket the towel, and you can use a vacuum or knock them into a jug of soapy water to kill them. - Bayer Advanced

• Check your attic for holes or gaps and close them up. Stinkbugs often enter through attics - Mike Raupp, UMD Bug Guy.

Includes reporting by Patch Editor Kara Seymour

Photo Credit: Hans Lang / imageBROKER/Shutterstock