Stink Bugs: How best to exterminate

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Tjhe brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys Stål): http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/..._stink_bug.htm

So far I have not found any source that has an eradication method that is viable.

I've used poisons on a known localized infestation but they tend to spread out.

I loath these insects. They buzz around and slam into your face while you are eating then, when you whack them away they squirt their filth all over you and that's just the fun part.

They wander around and die. Then when you vacuum them up they make the whole house stink when the vacuum manages to suck their stink out of them. Even in death these horrors are a PITA in steroids.


They are bad enough to make me think about extreme measures. Not the least is the Bub Bomb and ponying up for a few gallons of pure DEET to spray my house exterior with to prevent them returning.

Mechanical exclusion is not a viable option since my home is 250 years old and huge.

Any one with experience successfully eliminating these little monsters?

Maybe If I could get some Cobalt 60 or Strontium 90 dust I could sprinkle it all over the house?
Yah that'd kill 'em.

[Ben Franz]

Around here we have a critter called a stink bug that's bigger than the ones in your pictures - maybe 1.5-2 inches long and walks around with its rear end up in the air like a funny car dragster. I don't know how you get rid of 'em - we just give each one a name and hope it'll eat some of the grasshoppers. Then, again, this is new Mexico so go figure.

[David G Baker]

Cliff,
I have them in my 80 year old upgraded farm house. They are a bigger bug than the one in your site post. I haven't tried it yet but Drione is a safe but effective powder that works on most insects and works especially well on wasps and most other other stinging bugs. It is not cheap, is available on Ebay and is used by local exterminators. Do a Google to see if it will work for you.
I use the capture and flush method because their smell triggers my asthma. I use a pill bottle and playing card to trap. Since I started flushing them the herd has thinned considerably since I started doing it around 6 years ago. When I first started I would catch 15-20 every day, now I may get one or two a week.
I remember the type of stink bugs in the photos from my days on the farm, they would be mixed in with the harvested grain in the combine's hopper.

[Eric Porter]

Cliff,
I have had great success with eliminating all manner of bugs in my home with the use of DEMON (WP). WP stands for wettable powder. You just mix it up in a sprayer and spray around the foundation, windows, doors, etc. any entrance way for the little critters. I mix it according to directions, less potent spray for interior application, and more potent mix for the outside. I generally spray twice a year and much to my wife's pleasure we have absolutely no bugs in the house.

Here is where I purchase it last time I bought any, just copy and paste the link to your browser.

http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/demonwp.htm

Eric

Eric

[David G Baker]

Demon and Drione are both very good at doing what they claim to do. Demon WP may be a better choice for application because Drione is applied in powder form and needs a special applicator that puffs the powder into areas where the critters hide.

[Gene Howe]

My dad used to get rid of a lot of insects with Borax. Beetles, ants, roaches, just about anything that crawls. Might be worth a shot before buying something more potent. It's cheap and, even if it doesn't get rid of your stink bug, at least, it'll get rid of a lot of others.

[Jim Becker]

Cliff, they have been increasing in numbers over the past few years around here...while the lady bug population has decreased for us. I haven't found any way of safely dealing with them so I don't, outside of catching one on occasion when it's bothering one of the girls and "escorting" them outside.

[Terry Achey]

You're right, Jim. They have really been increasing in numbers in recent years in this neck of the woods. Frankly, what impresses me the most is how they can find their way into even the tightest of houses!

They don't bother me so I don't treat for them. Plus, they're very slow so they're easy to catch in the house and place in the trash. I can't say that I even notice the "stink" when I smash one in a papertowel and place it in the trash can. I'm just happy they don't sting

Terry

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I have had great success with eliminating all manner of bugs in my home with the use of DEMON (WP).

The active ingredients in that stuff are:

Calcium Silicate 1344−95−2 27.4 %
Amorphous Silica 7631−86−9 18.2

Found here: http://www.bugspray.com/private/msds/dwpm.pdf

I am surprised the stuff works.
And look at all the critters you can kill with it~!!
http://www.bugspray.com/private/msds/dwpl.pdf

I will definitely try some. The only health concerns about the stuff are that you not pour it directly into your eyes and to avoid falling in a vat of the powder.


You say you spray it around you house? Really?
How very interesting.

[David G Baker]

Cliff,
Not sure if Demon WP works the same as Drione. The bug man told me that when Drione is sprayed on yellow jackets it kills them instantly, it does, I saw it work. He said that yellow jackets breath through the surface of their bodies and when they come in contact with Drione it blocks the yellow jackets ability to breathe and it kills them real quick. It killed them so quick that he didn't wear any protective gear when he sprayed the powder on their nests. Not sure if this is true with all critters.

[John Fricke]

Way back when I had entomology 101 in college. I somewhat remember that silica is effective on certain bugs because if they ingest it, it tears their insides up. Kinda like sandblasting from the inside out. Silica dust is actually not all that good for humans to breath either.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Silica dust is actually not all that good for humans to breath either.

In my industry Silica is the new Asbestos.
It'll generate an awful lot of litigation.