Can Stink Bugs Fly?

One of the questions that people who have ever encountered stink bugs crawling around in their house or on their windows is: Can stink bugs fly?

This particular species of insect looks like a cross between a reptile and a cockroach, neither of which are capable of flight. So if you ever come across a stink bug, it might be easy to get complacent and to fall into a false sense of security, believing that they are just some slow moving bugs (since you might see them standing still most of the time, or just crawling around at a snail’s pace most of the time).

But the fact of the matter is that stink bugs can and do fly.

Now, if you are the type of person who is totally frightened by stink bugs, then a word of caution before you read any further, as you may not like what you are about to read.

Stink bugs are notorious for dive-bombing into a room. They don’t just casually fly in. They will zero in on a target and drop right in, accompanied by an extremely pronounced buzzing sound. You could be sitting at your desk with your laptop while reading this, and out of nowhere, a stink bug could come crash landing onto your laptop screen, taking you completely by surprise.

The funny thing is, their act of dive-bombing their way onto a table, a wall, or some other surface, is not necessarily a deliberate act of hostility. It is more like errant flying. It is more frightening and annoying than anything else, in actuality.  As a matter of fact, this dive-bombing behavior can be likened to that of a Japanese kamikaze attack. (During World War II, Japanese warriors would deliberately dive bomb their aircraft directly into targets on the ground, committing suicide in the process of completing their mission.)

These four-winged insects typically will only fly when the temperature is warm enough; some researchers have placed it at fifty degrees Fahrenheit or more. And typically they fly when they are in search of food or when they are migrating in search of a warmer climate (or a warm habitat such as a house).

I would not recommend that you attempt to swat at a stink bug to make it fly away. Unlike a regular house fly that would fly away unscathed and leave you alone, stink bugs will not leave without putting up a fight. Their instinctive initial reaction to being attacked is not to fly away but to release a foul odor as their form of self-defense. This is similar in behavior to what a skunk does when it is threatened, as skunks will do the same thing, releasing a noxious odor when they are attacked.

So what should you do if you see a stink bug? If simply ignoring it is not an option for you, then you should either attempt to vacuum it up, scoop it up with a paper towel as quickly as you can, or attempt to lure it into some kind of a trap. If the bug happens to already be near a window or a door, do whatever you can to gently shoo it away and nudge it in the general direction of the outside world. (Don’t do it too aggressively, otherwise it will unleash its noxious fumes on you.)

The bottom line is, yes, stink bugs can fly. But it absolutely should not be a cause for alarm for you that this is the case.