Getting rid of stink bugs from your house and garden

Killing the stink bugs in your home and garden is a major challenge. These bugs are quite capable of being a big nuisance in people's houses. If you decide to grow tomatoes in your garden, you know who is going to cause the biggest problems. However, you can take a few steps and use some products available on the market to control this infestation of stink bugs and prevent damage to your fruits and vegetables. You will need to avoid doing certain things while you are trying to eliminate these troublesome pests.

To begin with, you need to learn about the life cycle and habits of stink bugs. Adult stink bugs live for many years, although they go dormant in cold weather and look for warm places to hide. When emerging in the spring, the females lay their eggs, from 30 to 100, under the leaves of low growing vegetation. There are four kinds of the better-known stink bugs. They are: the brown stink bug, green stink bug, marmorated stink bug and southern green stink bug. When they are feeding on plant juices through their mouthparts that are like needles, they inject saliva into the plants and fruits. They are responsible for destroying the fruit of the plant. They are also quite capable of invading your house, looking for warmer surroundings. Despite their efforts, it is possible to prevent the stink bugs from entering the house.

In order to avoid an infestation, you must keep the garden area as clear as possible. This is because the stink bugs lay their bugs close to the plants. So clean out the weeds in all areas in your yard to remove all their possible hiding places. Once the temperature starts to reach into the 70s, the female stink bugs start to lay eggs, so watch for these and destroy them. However, be careful not to crush the adults, as they will release a terrible odor that will attract even more stink bugs. You can pick them up and place them inside a container filled with soapy water. You can use a long stick for checking the lower garden area for any infestation. As they say, prevention is better than cure, so preventing their first generation from appearing will safe guard your home and garden.

You can use non-toxic methods to control the spreading of stink bugs. However, they are good fliers and can travel far enough to find a crop. Therefore, you will have a double battle on your hands- fighting the ones in the yard and the incoming ones. Non-toxic methods include using row covers for beans and peas. You can also use hand vacuum cleaners for sucking them up and placing them in soapy water. You can also use some yellow sticky traps or pheromone impregnated traps to lure them in. If these methods don’t work you can use the toxic insecticides. These involve sprays and dusts effective in killing stink bugs. However, read and understand all the warnings on the label before using them. You also need to prepare your home to avoid a stink bug invasion. Before the arrival of cold weather, spray the house with stink bugs repellents.