Hi Jonathan –
We’ve started finding stink bugs in our house. I’m not certain if these are bugs that hibernated over the winter or are being attracted in to the lights in these warmer days.
Can you recommend a “kit” of what I should buy at this time of year to kill them but that would be safe around kids?
W.M.
If you read through our STINK BUG CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn this insect typically infests plants. If you have plants close to the home, stinkbugs could be living there and from the plants be finding their way inside. Additionally, they readily nest on the siding of homes undetected by the people living inside. It’s quite possible you have an established population that’s been there some time and now has grown so large some are now coming inside the structure. The bottom line is that if you’re not doing some kind of preventive pest control around the exterior of your home, it’s really only a matter of time before something gets inside. And since there are so many urban insects active around the United States, it’s quite difficult to keep them all out even if you are spraying.
The good news is that you have plenty of options here to get the situation under control. At this point I’d say to start simple. Based on the time of year (late spring-early summer) it sounds like you have an established population close to if not on the home. I strongly suggest a good exterior spraying of the outside siding – especially the side you think they’re most likely coming from – with the CYPERMETHRIN we have featured in our stink bug article. As explained in our safety video that appears on the Cypermethrin product page, if you keep kids and pets away during the application, there will be no hazard presented to them.
Inside the home you should treat with D-FORCE in any room where you’re seeing activity. Focus your treatments to cracks and crevices and if any are nesting in these areas, you’ll be able to stop them now before they become a real problem. Again, keeping kids and pets away during the treatment is really all you need to do. Once dry there won’t be any hazard to them and they’ll be able to use treated rooms like before.
And if you’re still unsure about the use of any of the above listed products, go with one of the organic options listed at the end of this post:
Here are direct links to the information and products mentioned above:
Stinkbug Control Article: http://www.bugspray.com/article/stinkbug.html
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page1006.html
D-Force Aerosol: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/d-force-14-oz-aerosol
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