Tips on Getting Rid of these Little 'Buggies'
Stink bugs, also called brown marmorated stink bug, don't really harm people, thank goodness! But they can release an unpleasant odor, which is believed to be a part of their defense weapon against birds and lizards.
These bugs can invade your home when the weather starts to cool down during the fall. Just like other many insects, these little 'stinkies' have a hard time surviving the winter cold. They will crawl to warm places wherever they can, including your house where they hibernate and wait for winter to pass. However, because of the warm and cozy environment that they are in (your home!), they sometimes wake up and fly around your room clumsily.
Researchers are still unsure how stink bugs, with scientific name Halyomorpha halys, came to the United States. What they do know is that it is indigenous to Asia. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the bugs were first discovered in 1998 and have ever since increase in numbers damaging crops and invading homes.
Tips on how to get rid of stink bugs inside your house!
If you find them lurking in your home, do NOT squash or vacuum them, otherwise they're going to release their unpleasant odor and you would't want that to happen.
The best way to get rid of a stink bug is to allow it to walk onto a cardboard or piece of paper and carry it outside or flush it down the toilet. Or, if you are tired of having to wait for them to walk into your little trap, just pick it up with a tissue and flush them, that works quit well too!
Preventing them from entering your home is one key to avoid those bugs. Try to seal off cracks and other potential spaces where they can crawl to enter your house.
Insecticides may be effective against these pests. However, you should consider the potential effects when you apply it at your home or your surroundings. Also, if you do consider using insecticides, carefully plan on when your going to apply it. Applied early, the insecticide may degrade even before stink bugs try to invade your house.
What research is being done
Jeffrey Aldrich, an expert on stink bugs and a researcher at USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) , is experimenting on how to synthesize the stink bug's (H. Halys) pheromone, which can be used in a trap to protect houses, crop fields, and orchards.
Sources:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Combating the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug: A New Threat for Agriculture, a Nuisance for Homeowners
United States Department of Agriculture, ARS Science for Kids. This Bug Doesn't Bite ... But It Can Stink Up Your House!
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1 comments:
There is no such thing as "a" stink bug. They invade by countless numbers. There are not enough tissues in a box, or time, to pick them up one by one. Flushing them would waste more water than I want to think of. The vaccume is the only way. I quickly empty the vaccume chamber into a bag w/veg oil,(that slows them down pretty good) and toss it in the garabge.
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