Published on December 22nd, 2022
Last updated on February 3rd, 2023
How To Get Rid Of Stink Bugs In Your House? All You Need To Know
A person’s apartment is an ideal habitat for bed bugs and other insects. For example, you can meet fleas, siverfishes, or spiders. Because they have everything they need for a comfortable life:
- the right temperature;
- food;
- plenty of hiding places for them to breed.
Since house bugs are blood-sucking insects, humans have many problems with this neighborhood. Bed bugs can enter an apartment any time of the year. Unsanitary conditions are not the cause of their appearance. Stink bugs may live in a home even if it is very clean and well-maintained. Those who have ever dealt with bed bugs know they are hard to kill. It is because of their tenacity and ability to reproduce quickly. Also, the insects hide in the daytime, and it is not easy to detect them. Besides, there are ways to combat bed bugs on their own. Using heat treatment, home, and domestic chemicals, you can exclude them. Let’s consider these methods in more detail and what attracts stink bugs.
Stink Bug Extermination with Heat Treatment in the House
Temperatures in the range of 20-30°C is comfortable for stink bugs to live and reproduce normally. It explains why bed bugs live so well in human apartments. Stink bugs do well at temperatures between -20°C and +50°C. Temperatures below -20°C and above +50°C are not good for bed bugs. And you can use it to fight them.
Freezing
Freezing is a longstanding method of fighting stink bugs at home. To use it correctly, you must know how the insect reacts to changes in ambient temperature.
- At -10°C, the bugs go into anabiosis, or hibernation, and may stay there for up to 1.5 years without needing to eat.
- At -15°C, they will survive the cold for three days, after which they will die.
- A drop below -20°C will kill a bedbug within hours.
- Bed bug larvae are even more resistant to the cold. Because they survive temperatures as low as -30°C with their thick protective coat. They can hibernate for up to 24 months and will wake up whenever conditions are more favorable.
Freezing does help to kill stink bugs in the house. But to do this, you have to chill the room for three days, provided the temperature does not rise above -15°C all these days. But even this temperature will not be enough to kill the larvae. This method of exterminating bed bugs by yourself is possible, but only in wintertime, at low temperatures, or in certain regions with cold climates.
Burning
When temperatures rise above 50°C, bed bugs and their larvae will die within minutes. Thus, you need a good scald to kill stink bugs at home.
- To do this, collect all bedding, clothing, and children’s toys, send them to the washing machine, and run the wash at 90°C.
- You must carefully steam things you cannot wash with an iron. Also, you need to pay attention to every inch. By the way, you can do the same with upholstered furniture and treat it carefully with steam.
- It is good if you have a steam generator for steaming or a special steam cleaner for cleaning. They can treat the walls, baseboards, and floors of the rooms.
Getting rid of stink bugs in the home by high temperatures is possible. It is necessary to treat every inch of the room with steam, including:
- walls;
- floors;
- floor and ceiling plinths.
And partial treatment won’t help with a major insect infestation. Washing textiles and steaming upholstered furniture is not always effective.
Domestic Chemicals to Fight Stink Bugs
Stink bug extermination with household remedies is probably the most common way to control these insects in the home. You can see domestic chemicals in different forms:
- aerosols;
- powders;
- traps;
- gels.
According to most housewives, sprays and aerosols are the most convenient and influential since their permeability is higher than other means.
Follow these tips when working with chemicals:
- Prepare the apartment for treatment. You have to remove all belongings, vacuum, and damp-clean the room.
- Remove all from the house:
- Food;
- Utensils;
- Personal care products;
- Aquariums;
- Pet bowls.
- Even if the product has a low or moderate level of toxicity – the presence of children and animals in the home during the room treatment should be excluded.
- Before spraying insecticides, you have to close all windows and doors. Also, you need to unplug all electrical appliances. It is necessary when you ruin stink bugs’ house.
- Use a wet gauze bandage or a respirator. Wear a protective suit and gloves if you use a highly toxic product!
- Do not spray on one area for more than 2 seconds and just into the air. You have to apply insecticides to surfaces.
- After treatment, leave the room immediately, leaving windows ajar.
- You have to wash all textiles after treatment.
Killing Stink Bugs with Home Remedies
You can try home remedies against bed bugs. If you are afraid to mess with insecticidal preparations. But, it is fair to say simple home remedies will not help to destroy bed bugs. It will only scare them away for a while. So you cannot solve the problem of infestation. It is best to use preventive techniques. Especially if you find out that the neighbors have bed bugs.
Fragrant Plants
Bed bugs are scared away by pungent smells. As they irritate the primitive nervous system of insects. Also, different fragrant scare them away from the source of the stench.
Caution: Scaring away from house stink bugs with harsh smells is strictly forbidden in one case. If there are animals in the house. Therefore, the smelling of branches scattered around the house will make your apartment not a very pleasant place for them to live.
- Place branches of fragrant plants:
- under beds;
- in corners of rooms;
- on windowsills and tables.
- In pharmacies, you can buy dried wormwood in a crushed form. Such powder is convenient to scatter along the walls of all rooms.
Kerosene and its equivalents
You can also use the following remedies to repel house stink bugs:
- kerosene;
- vinegar;
- paint thinner;
- turpentine.
To do this, soak cotton pads with the smelly liquid and scatter them over the hardest-to-reach places – where the insects may be hiding.
Ammonia will also serve as a repellent barrier to bed bugs. To use it:
- Add a tablespoon of ammonia to water when cleaning floors;
- Ammonia will form an acrid-smelling film on surfaces.
Bottom Line
Now you know how to get rid of stink bugs in your house. You can use all of the above methods on your own. Because they are effective. However, in older homes heavily infested with insects, getting rid of these pests is difficult. In this case, only professional extermination from bed bugs can provide 100% success.
FAQ
How do I identify stink bugs in my home?
The first signs of bed bugs in the home are swollen red bites on the skin. It appears in the morning after bedtime and as minor blood stains on the bed. At the same time, black dots appear on furniture as residues of insect activity. Sometimes there is an unfamiliar sour smell in the house. It is like the fermentation of berries.
Can I use double-sided tape to control stink bugs?
Yes, it is an economical and easy way to get rid of bed bugs. You can use it in the same way as flypaper. One side of the adhesive tape is glued around the object’s perimeter. And the other side of the protective film is removed.
How do stink bugs come into the house?
Bed bugs come indoors from the outside. You can bring larvae or eggs into the house on the soles of your outdoor shoes. Also, you can bring them from the store or a hotel. But the most common cause of bed bugs is infestation from neighbors.
Are stink bugs dangerous?
They can be considered dangerous in that they destroy plants that humans eat. Also, the relative harm is that stink bugs give off an unpleasant odor when crushed.
