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If you’re figuring out how to get rid of stink bugs, the good news is that you don’t need sprays, foggers, or an exterminator. Stink bugs are a fall nuisance, not a danger. They don’t bite, they don’t breed inside your house, and they don’t damage your home. They just wander in looking for a warm place to spend the winter and show up on your windows, walls, and screen doors.
This guide covers how to identify the brown marmorated stink bug, why stink bugs come into the house every fall, the simple way I deal with them, 6 steps to get rid of them and keep them out, and the mistakes that make the problem (and the smell) worse.
What’s In This Guide
What Stink Bugs Look Like
The stink bug you’re most likely to find in your house is the brown marmorated stink bug. It’s about the size of a dime, mottled brown, and shaped like a shield. The easiest way to identify it is by the alternating light and dark bands on its antennae and along the edges of its body. Source: University of Minnesota Extension — Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Knowing how to get rid of stink bugs can prevent infestations and save you from unpleasant odors.
It’s an invasive species from Asia. Here in Indiana, it was first collected in Elkhart County in 2010, and it’s now found statewide. Source: Indiana DNR — Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Why Stink Bugs Come Inside in Fall
To reduce the chances of finding them inside, learn how to get rid of stink bugs before they enter your home.
Stink bugs spend the summer outdoors feeding on fruit trees, gardens, and crops. When the weather turns cool, they go looking for a protected place to spend the winter, and the cracks and gaps in your house are perfect. They often gather on the sunny, warm side of a building first, then work their way inside through any opening they can find. Source: University of Minnesota Extension — Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Once they’re inside your walls or attic, they go dormant. On a warm winter day, or when the heat kicks on, some of them wake up and wander out into your living space. That’s why you might find a stink bug on a lamp in January, months after you thought the season was over.
Are Stink Bugs Harmful?
No. Brown marmorated stink bugs that spend the winter in your house don’t lay eggs, reproduce, damage your home, or bite. They’re a nuisance, not a threat to you, your kids, or your pets. Source: University of Minnesota Extension — Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
The one real downside is the name. They give off an unpleasant odor when they’re disturbed or crushed. Handle them gently and you’ll rarely notice it.
How I Handle Them
Now let’s begin with how to get rid of stink bugs in your home.
We get stink bugs inside the house and on the screen door every fall. My approach is about as simple as it gets: I pick them up and toss them outside. I’ve never purposely squished one, and because of that, I’ve never really noticed the smell they’re named for.
That’s the main lesson. Most of the stink in stink bugs comes from people crushing them. Treat them gently, get them out of the house, and they’re not much of a problem. If you’re dealing with a handful at a time, the way I usually am, that’s all you need. If you’re finding dozens, the steps below will help you clear them out faster and keep the next wave from getting in.
How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs in 6 Steps
Steps 1 through 3 get rid of the stink bugs already in the house. Steps 4 through 6 keep more from getting in.
These methods show you how to get rid of stink bugs and ensure they don’t return.
Step 1: Pick them up gently and remove them
For a few stink bugs at a time, just scoop them up with a tissue or paper towel, or coax them onto a piece of paper, and take them outside. Walk them a little way from the house before you let them go, rather than dropping them right outside the door, or they’ll be back on your screen within the hour. If you’d rather make sure they don’t come back, drop them into a cup of soapy water instead, which drowns them quickly. Source: University of Minnesota Extension — Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Step 2: Vacuum large groups
If you find a cluster of stink bugs on a wall or window, a vacuum is the fastest way to clear them. Use a shop vac rather than your household vacuum, since the smell can linger in the canister. Here’s a trick that helps: slip a knee-high nylon stocking into the end of the hose and secure it with a rubber band. The bugs get caught in the stocking instead of the vacuum, and you can tie it off and throw it away when you’re done. Empty the vacuum or stocking right away, either outside or into a bucket of soapy water. Source: University of Maryland Extension — Tips for Dealing With Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
Step 3: Set a soapy water trap at night
Stink bugs are attracted to light. At night, set a pan of water with a teaspoon of dish soap mixed in under a desk lamp in the room where you’re seeing them, and turn off the other lights. The bugs fly toward the lamp, fall into the water, and drown. Source: Indiana DNR — Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
A light trap like this helps catch the stragglers, but it won’t stop stink bugs from getting in. That’s what the next three steps are for.
Step 4: Seal cracks and gaps with caulk
The best long-term fix is keeping stink bugs out in the first place. Walk around the outside of your house and seal cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes, and behind the chimney with a caulk gun and a good-quality silicone caulk. Do this in late summer or early fall, before they start looking for a winter home. Source: University of Maryland Extension — Tips for Dealing With Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
The gaps that let stink bugs in also let in mice, ants, and cold drafts, so this one job pays off three ways. Our guide on how to keep mice out of your house walks through finding every gap around the outside of your home.
Step 5: Fix screens and seal doors
A torn window screen or a gap around a screen door is an open invitation. That’s exactly where I find them at our house. Patch small holes with a window screen repair kit, and replace screens that are badly torn. Add a door sweep to any door with a gap underneath, and replace worn weatherstripping with new foam weatherstripping. Our guide on how to seal windows and doors for winter covers the full process.
Step 6: Check vents, window AC units, and the attic
Window air conditioners are one of the most common ways stink bugs get in, because the foam around them rarely seals tightly. Remove window units for the season, or seal around them. Check that attic, soffit, and bathroom exhaust vents have intact screens, and look for gaps where cables and pipes enter the house. Source: Indiana DNR — Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
What Not to Do
A few common mistakes make stink bugs more of a hassle than they need to be:
- Don’t squish them. Crushing a stink bug releases the odor, and it can stain walls, curtains, and fabric.
- Don’t use bug sprays or foggers indoors. Extension experts don’t recommend pesticides inside the house. They don’t work well on stink bugs and expose your family to chemicals for no real benefit.
- Don’t vacuum them with your household vacuum unless you’re using the stocking trick. The smell can stick around in the canister and hose.
- Don’t spray the outside of your house with insecticide. It’s expensive, has health and environmental risks, and often doesn’t work.
Source: University of Maryland Extension — Tips for Dealing With Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
The same sealing keeps out other fall invaders. See how to get rid of spiders in the house.
Frequently Asked Questions About Stink Bugs in the House
Do stink bugs bite?
No. Brown marmorated stink bugs don’t bite or sting people or pets. They’re harmless to handle, though you’ll want to be gentle so they don’t release their odor.
Do stink bugs lay eggs in your house?
No. Stink bugs that come inside for the winter don’t lay eggs or reproduce indoors. They’re dormant until spring, when they try to get back outside to feed and breed.
Why do I see stink bugs in the house in winter?
They’ve been there since fall, tucked into your walls, attic, or window frames. On warm days, or when the heat runs, some of them wake up and wander out into your living space. You haven’t got a new infestation; you’re seeing the ones that came in during the fall.
If I put stink bugs outside, will they come back in?
They can, especially if you release them right by the door. Walk them a little way from the house before letting them go. If you’re seeing a lot of them, drop them in soapy water instead and focus on sealing the gaps where they’re getting in.
Do dryer sheets or essential oils keep stink bugs away?
There’s little evidence that scents like dryer sheets, peppermint, or other essential oils keep stink bugs out. Sealing cracks, fixing screens, and adding door sweeps work much better.
How do stink bugs get in the house?
Through gaps around windows and doors, torn screens, window air conditioners, attic and soffit vents, and any opening where pipes, cables, or wires enter the house. They’re good at squeezing through small cracks.