Pamela Engel, The Columbus Dispatch| The Columbus Dispatch
Stink bugs invade our homes when the weather turns cold and make their presence known when we try to shoo them away.
They are harmless to humans, but they emit an unpleasant odor when disturbed or crushed, so don’t swat them. Sealing your home is the best way to make sure the pests stay outside.
The bugs “are finding cracks and crevices,” said Denise Ellsworth, a program director in Ohio State University’s entomology department. “We need to think about the caulking around doors and windows ... any kind of entryway where those insects can work their way in.”
Adult stink bugs are about three-quarters of an inch long. They are shaped like a shield and are brown, gray or dark green. The odoriferous bugs come inside when the temperature drops simply to seek shelter.“They’re not breeding indoors; they’re not feeding,” Ellsworth said. “They’re basically just hanging out until temperatures warm up in the spring. Then they would try to work their way out.”
The National Pest Management Association, based in Fairfax, Va., says the hot summer likely helped the insect’s population grow.
The brown marmorated stink bug has been growing in numbers across Ohio. The invasive species likely traveled to the United States from Asia on shipping crates. It was first spotted in Pennsylvania in 1998 and in Ohio in 2007.The United States also has a native stink bug. But the brown marmorated “is the only (species) that people see in large numbers coming to houses,” said Jim Fredericks, the director of technical services for the pest management association.
The bugs feed on many kinds of plants and have no known predators, so they’re not likely to disappear anytime soon, Ellsworth said.
Asian lady beetles also invade homes as temperatures drop. They like sunny, bright settings and also like to hide in crevices during the winter months. The lady beetles have an unpleasant smell as well, Ellsworth said. Besides caulking around doors and windows, repairing damaged window screens can also help keep insects out.
Ann Woods, a Clintonville resident, said she recently found a cluster of stink bugs on a windowsill. She suspects they got in through openings around the frame.
“They stayed on the windowsill,” she said. “They’re not aggressive bugs, from what I can see."
If you use a vacuum to collect the insects, immediately dispose of the bag. Crushing them will release their odor, and leaving the dead bugs in a vacuum-cleaner bag also could cause an unpleasant smell, experts say.
Pamela Engel is a fellow in Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Statehouse News Bureau.
pengel@dispatch.com
