Pennsylvania Stink Bugs: Are They Moving In, or Just Here for a Visit? (Charlottesville: apartments, house) - City-Data Forum

normie · 10-03-2009, 05:26 PM

This week, several hundred thousand residents of Pennsylvania moved to NOVA. In fact, a few thousand probably moved into your neighborhood. But the good news is, these new residents don't need apartments, they won't be driving at rush hour, and they won't be standing in line at the DMV.

Pennsylvania Stink Bugs have arrived and you'll soon see lots of them clinging to your house and windows. They'll be visiting until spring (but IMO they'll probably end up moving in. Seems like everyone ends up moving here!)

Now don't worry--these little critters don't bite and they won't hurt your house. The important thing to know is..... don't stomp on them. Don't squash them, don't spray them, don't swat them! They aren't called stink bugs for nothing.

The Health Department has been getting quite a few calls about this. Health Director Dr. David Goodfriend says Stink Bugs are not a threat to people’s health. Stilll, they recommend keeping the critters out of your house by sealing any openings around windows, doors and pipes with caulk. Be sure to seal even the smallest openings.

Some sources suggest sucking them up with a vaccuum but that might backfire. There are lots of spinning parts in a vacuum cleaner that will chop the bugs into pieces and, well, release the stink. A better idea is to scoop up the stink bugs and drop them into a jar partially filled with water. Using a stiff piece of paper or a card for the scoop. Then dump them back ouside.

Loudoun Times

michgc · 10-03-2009, 05:44 PM

They're actually originally from Asia. But they were apparently introduced into PA about 10 years ago. We have had stink bugs in our home here since last year. And they do stink if you squish them. We learned the hard way.

Merlander · 10-03-2009, 06:15 PM

Normie, mitchgc is right. They are originally from China, yet one more benefit of global trade.

I didn't realize they had been introduced so long ago, though.

We have plenty of them here in Frederick. An exterminator told us a few days ago he had treated a home with 5000 of them in the attic, which puts an awful stink in the house. Some say the smell slightly resembles cilantro. Anyway as the weather cools, they will be looking for access to comfy, warm homes, as they are tropical bugs.

Flamingo13 · 10-03-2009, 06:29 PM

We haven't seen them in the house thank goodness, but for a while there, I was seeing them on the window screens. I heard that on the news about vacuuming them up and thought the same thing: that's gonna chop them up and/or they'll be in the bag! I have been flicking them off the screen, they hiss - no stinking fortunately.

LVMYDACH · 10-03-2009, 08:11 PM

Normie,

Thanks so much for posting this info on Stink Bugs! My husband found 3 in our house today and we didn't know what kind of bugs they were or how they got in the house! Unfortunately he sucked 2 of them in our vacumn cleaner in the master bathroom before I read your post!

SteelCityRising · 10-03-2009, 11:17 PM

We were touring part of the wine country today and had these bugs swarming us at both Naked Mountain and Barrel Oak in the Markham/Warrenton areas. I really didn't mind them. I thought they were cute!

They sure beat those stupid cicadas that gave me headaches all summer and these darn fishing spiders that keep popping out of my shower curtain!

Denton56 · 10-04-2009, 12:10 AM

They seem to love the master bathroom in our house. We haven't figured out how they're getting in since we never open the any of the windows in there. I've also found them inside my car, which is inside the garage. UGH!

Nebat · 10-04-2009, 02:36 AM

They are also in central VA like crazy(Charlottesville), and the Shen Valley where i live I spotted one on the outside of my window. Stupid to say, but DO NOT burn them!!! OMG what a funky horrible odor! I was using a heat gun at work, kind of like a hair dryer, just mega industrial grade and one unknown to me had crawled into the end of the gun. As I'm heating up the part I'm working on this horrid odor appeared. I thought it was the piece I was working on burning or something. I put the gun down and out dropped a barbecued stink bug. For as long as it was being toasted it wasn't crispy when it fell out, but it was still soft. Resilient little bastids!

krism42 · 10-04-2009, 06:13 AM

Ewww, so gross. Between those and the ever-increasing in size camel crickets, I just don't know. The camel crickets, of whom I have a severe phobia, are mainly showing up in my bathroom, 2 of which were located in the tub, which is adeep claw-foot, so they can't be jumping into the tub can they? I have started stopping the drain at all times. And the stink bugs, I had to stop Halloween decorating yesterday as they quickly surrounded my home....how long will they be around? Yesterday was the first I noticed them, and I read one lady's blog that said she walked inside and found three in her hair! I have a lot of hair!!!!

Will they die off as it gets colder?

normie · 10-04-2009, 07:06 AM

It's so interesting to read these posts. I always just assumed a migration pattern would be linear. But if they've been down in Vienna then they been south of us for at least a year before swinging up to visit my neighborhood. I wonder how that works?

They hit our street Tuesday. Overnight, they were all over the place. I thought it was just our house and then I went out to say hello to the neighbors and everyone was talking about them.

Well, if they've been in VA for more than a year I guess they aren't temporary visitors. Unless our upcoming winter scares them off! I hear we're expecting heavy snows and frigid temps this year--maybe that will send the little critters all the way down to Florida.