Are you tired of the greedy critters eating through your homegrown veggies and fruits? Learn How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs from Home and Garden.
Here are some super effective ways on How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs from Home and Garden to ensure these foul-smelling pests stay away for good.
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How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs from Home and Garden
Stink bugs produce a foul smell if squished or disturbed. Most people find the smell disgusting, like skunk, burnt tires, ammonia, or cilantro. The critters love to feed on squash, apples, peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, gourds, and berries.
1. Keep Things Clean
The simplest way to get rid of stink bugs is to keep your home and garden clean and debris-free. Get rid of weeds, leaves, and overgrown plants. The pesky pests love to hide under decaying plant matter or decomposing logs.
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2. Seal any Potential Entryways
Look for all the potential entry points of the stinky crawling visitors in your home and garden. They make their way through holes or splits in windows behind baseboards, roof lights, debilitated fans, and dryer sheets.
Fill up any opening or crack with cement to keep the bugs away.
3. Pick & Toss
Once you have fixed those entry points, the next step is to carry on stink bug pest control. Pick them up using a paper towel and flush them down the drain. You can toss them outside in the freezing temperatures after trapping them in a closed lid box.
Ensure you do not squish the bugs as that will mist the air with a foul smell.
4. Vacuum Them
In case of a stink bug infestation on your carpets, you can vacuum the bugs out. However, do not forget to clean or empty the vacuum bags immediately. It is to prevent the cleaner from a stinking odor.
5. Grow Strong Smelling Plants
Repel these stink bugs by planting strong-smelling plants such as lavender, thyme, garlic, catnip, chrysanthemums, marigolds, and radishes. Bugs aren’t fond of such powerful scents and hence, stay away.
6. Grow Plants to Attract Stink Bugs’ Enemies
According to a study, purple tansy, marigold, and buckwheat have proven to attract parasitoid wasps. The wasps lay their eggs in the stink bug eggs and have the potential to destroy the baby bugs.
Plant sunflower or tomato plants in the garden as trap plants. Once they attract these bugs, pull up the plant and wrap it in a plastic bag. Let it sit in the sunlight for 10-12 hours. Once the bugs are dead, carefully discard them.
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7. Soapy Bath
Mix liquid soap and water in equal proportions and fill in a spray bottle. Shake well and spray on your dividers and drapes. Also, place a bowl filled with this solution where bugs frequent the most. You will be able to catch a handful of them this way.
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8. Garlic Spray
The strong scent of garlic can be used to beat stink bugs. Boil 10-12 chopped garlic cloves in a liter of water. Allow the solution to cool down, and strain the mix.
Fill into a small spray bottle and spritz where you spot these bugs.
9. Kaolin Clay
Another natural way to kill the stink bugs from home and garden is to use kaolin clay. This clay stops the bugs from munching on plants and laying eggs.
Simply coat the plants with a mixture of Kaolin Clay and water mixed in the ratio of 1:1. As it also forms a thin layer on the leaves, it further prevents the bugs from attacking.
10. Neem Oil
Neem oil is another natural way of getting rid of stink bugs. Make a neem oil spray by combining neem oil and water in 1:2 proportion in a spray bottle. Shake well before use.
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11. Insecticidal Soap
Insecticidal soaps work well against these soft-bodied creatures. You can buy a commercial liquid or make one for yourself.
Combine 10-12 tablespoons of liquid soap into one liter of water. Transfer into a spray bottle, and apply it directly to the infestation to get rid of the stink bugs.
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12. Sticky Traps
Stink bugs are harmless to humans but can create a nuisance. They produce an unpleasant smell if frightened, disturbed, or killed.
To kill them, you can use yellow sticky traps in the vicinity of infested plants. Keeping them near plants that attract these bugs will help you catch them effectively.
13. Make a DIY Trap
Things you Need:
- Empty 2-liter soda bottle
- Electrical Tape
- Battery-powered light
Watch this Youtube tutorial to understand how to use the light in the bottle and electrical tape to trap the stink bugs.
14. Use Wood Ash
Some gardeners swear by using wood ash to kill stink bugs. Collect some wood ash from your fireplace and sprinkle a thin layer where you spot these bugs. Also, it is quite effective against snails and slugs.
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15. Keep an Eye on the Squash Family Plants
Stink bugs get attracted to squash family plants like metal to a magnet. So, if you have zucchini, squash, marrows, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons, and gourds in your garden, keep an eye on them.
