Vacuums are best bet to battle stink bugs

If you find your home, car or office is being invaded by ugly brown bugs, you're not alone. Stink bugs are moving through the state leaving a little stench in their wake.
According to Eric Day, director of the Virginia Tech Insect Identification Laboratory, there are several different species of stink bugs found in Virginia, two of which are the brown stink bug and the green stink bug. The bugs are typically 5/8 inch long with brown ones being grayish brown on top and yellowish on the bottom. Green ones are just a uniform green.
The bugs originated in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan where they are a true agricultural pest, according to Steve Jacobs, Sr., an extension associate with the Penn State Department of Entomology. Recently, he said, the bugs have become a serious pest of fruit, vegetables and farm crops in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. This is because the bugs suck the sap out of plants, causing the most damage on tomatoes, peppers, beans, okra, pecans and fruits.
But they aren't just a problem in fields and orchards. They've actually become an increasing problem for homeowners. According to Don Marshall, manager of Dodson Brothers Pest Control in Orange, said his office has received "many, many calls" about the bugs.
"Stink bugs are migratory," he said. "They like to over winter in houses and usually start [doing so] during those last hot days of summer and cool nights of fall."
Rob Keyser of Backwood Pest and Termite, located in Locust Grove, said the bugs are worse in more rural homes. Both men said the bugs can be very difficult to get rid of.
"If you don't see them anymore, that just means they are under the siding," Marshall said. "You can get some relief from using pesticides but that only gives relief, it doesn't solve the problem."
Marshall said if pesticides are laid down, in many cases the bugs will just fly above them.
"Most people think you can wave a magic wand and eliminate the problem, but you can't," he said.
Marshall warned that if the bugs were to pick up some pesticide and go behind the walls and die, a terrible stench would result, similar to what happens when the bugs are squashed. He said pesticides should be used outdoors to kill the bugs as they try to enter the home.
The good news is the bugs are really more of a nuisance for homeowners than anything else. According to Jacobs, the bugs are not known to cause harm to humans, won't reproduce inside structures or cause damage.  He said mechanical exclusion is the best method to keep them from entering homes and buildings. He suggests sealing cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes, behind chimneys and underneath wood with a quality silicone or silicone-latex caulk. Also, damaged screens on windows or doors should be replaced. Pesticides should be administered outdoors by a licensed pest control operator in the fall just prior to bug congregation.
If the bugs do make it indoors, Jacobs suggests sleuthing out their point of entry and sealing it. He said typically bugs will emerge from cracks under or behind baseboards, around window and door trim and around exhaust fans or lights in ceilings. A vacuum will aid in removing the bugs although it may pick up their stench after time and pesticides indoors are not recommended.
"The best way is to vacuum, mop and then throw the bag away," Marshall added.