There are many ways how to get rid of stink bugs without using pesticide. In fact, the use of pesticide should ideally be reserved for being your very last resort, when all other methods at killing them, disposing of them, and preventing new ones from invading your living space, have failed.
Pesticide can have unintended consequences, no matter how safe professional exterminators may claim that they are. Why would you want to spray pesticide in your back yard where your children normally play? Why would you want to put other animal wildlife at risk? The use of pesticides is risky business, not only to wildlife, but also to humans, and to the environment as well. Why solve one problem, only to create yet another?
There are many ways how to get rid of stink bugs using other means. Let’s examine a few ways how you can thwart this threat:
- You can set up traps to capture and / or kill stink bugs.
- You can seal any gaps or cracks in your home’s windows, doors, and walls through which stink bugs might be able to gain access into your home.
- You can simply vacuum them up.
- You can squash them.
Hold it right there. That last item, squashing them, is probably the last thing you want to do (aside from using pesticide of course). As you are probably already well aware, these bugs are so named for a reason! You guessed it! They got their name because they stink…. Well, to be precise, they let out a putrid odor whenever they are threatened. It’s their natural self-defense mechanism to ward off any predators.
So who gives a stink about the stink, you ask?
Well, the answer is that the stink is extremely vile and extremely potent. It can get on your skin, requiring you to wash your hands thoroughly to get the odor out. It can get on your clothes. It can even get on your furniture, your walls, or your carpet. And it takes a little bit of effort to get this odor out completely.
And that’s one of the things that makes killing stink bugs so challenging. If you want to stop stink bugs from overrunning your household, then you will need to take certain measures to eliminate them.
Now, if you are extremely entomophobic (fearful of insects), you may want to consider contacting your local pest control company and asking them if they can get rid of stink bugs for you without using any types of pesticides. Can they set up the traps for you, and give you pointers and tips on how to capture and dispose of them without you having to come into contact with them?
Some extermination companies may even tell you that they cannot help you. I once called an exterminator to my house to ask if they could help with our stink bug problem, and when he arrived, he told me that he can’t help with it, on the basis that stink bugs are an airborne species of insect, and that none of their solutions would work on them! Needless to say, he didn’t stay very long. I wanted to call other exterminators to see if I could get a second opinion, but then I decided to try out several of the tactics on how to get rid of stink bugs that I have detailed on this website for you, myself, and have found great success.
Or, simply ask a friend, family member, or neighbor (whom you can trust) to come and help you out. But there is no reason for you to feel helpless in this situation. Stink bugs are absolutely harmless to human beings and animals. They do not bite. They do not sting. They do not suck your blood. And they have not been known to transmit any type of communicable disease. Part of what makes them such frightening bugs (for those who are easily frightened by bugs) is nothing more than reptilian appearance thanks to the exoskeletal shell on their backs.
In fact, stink bugs are herbivorous. They feed on fruits and vegetables. They are a huge threat to agriculture, but unless you live on a farm, you don’t really need to worry about that… It might be a good idea for you to keep your fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator instead of out in the open, if you have a stink bug problem in your house.
If you see a stink bug in your home, you can simply vacuum them up. It might be challenging to lug a huge vacuum around the house and to keep the hose attachment ready. You might do well to keep a handheld portable vacuum cleaner available and ready at all times.
Perhaps one of the cleverest and simplest solutions for how to get rid of stink bugs is to use dish soap! In fact, this solution has gone viral in communities across the country, as the easiest, and most satisfying ways how to kill stink bugs! There is something sheepishly evil and satisfying about spraying a stink bug with a bottle of dish washing detergent, and watching it die. Apparently, the chemical composition of dish washing detergent is highly toxic to these bugs and kills them on contact. (But as cited in my blog post on dish soap, it is important to make sure that the soap comes in contact with the bug’s belly and not its dorsal shell.)
Learn more strategies on how to get rid of stink bugs without having to resort to using a pesticide, which can cause more problems than it is worth.