If you've ever dealt with stink bugs in NY, you're easily able to recognize their speckled grayish brown coloring and shield shape from across the room. They are quite unique and distinct. Usually, their six legs are stuck to the wall, and their two long antennae sit still on their face, sort of like a creepy wall ornament. Sometimes they are slowly twitching across your wall, with no recognizable destination in mind. Don't worry. Those stink bugs aren't dangerous to your family. They're just nasty. And even more so, when you squish them. They don't call them stink bugs for nothin'. If you have them walking across your walls or window sills, you can suck them up. A standard vacuum cleaner can get rid of a bunch, in the short term. But, if you'd rather not have them creepy crawling on every surface of your house, here a three tips on how to prevent stink bugs before they land a spot in your home.
Screens.
You've probably heard it a million times: screens are your best defense against stink bugs. But have you considered all the places you can put screens? Sure, your windows, and sliding doors are an obvious place to have good functioning screens, but there are other less obvious places; your chimney, for instance. Put screening over your chimney, so smoke can get out, and stink bugs can't get in. Screen holes and open areas on the wall of your garage, especially near the roof line. Screen off air intakes and vents in your attic with window grade screening. And screen and seal your dryer ventilation hose.
Block entry points.
- Check all the doors in your house, and make sure the weather stripping is in place. Weather stripping tends to slide down over time, and can create a gap that is easy for a stink bug to slip through.
- Check all your door sweeps, to make sure stink bugs can't slip under. The door sweeps must make good contact all the way across.
- Use a caulking gun to fill in holes on your siding, around air conditioning units, outlets, and windows frames.
Treat your home.
Pest professionals can give you year-round protection against stink bugs, and a large assortment of other household pests. The treatments are safe and convenient, and you won't have to put another thought toward dealing with those nasty stink bugs.