Sister in Pittsburgh is battling stink bugs.....anybody have

[Gin]

any suggestions on getting rid of them?

Another gift from China!

[Motown_Johnny]

1. I heard about this on the news a week or two ago

and I know you can buy praying mantis eggs. They hatch and feed on each other until only one is left, then it feeds on other bugs until the food source is gone.


I don't know for sure that stink bugs are on their menu and it is fall so maybe it isn't a good time of year for this.

But it may be an environmentally friendly way to go. I would even suggest putting the eggs in more than one location so you may end up with more than one mantis.

[ThomWV]

2. Friends in Morgantown (~70 miles south of Pitt) are inundated with them

[Vinca]

3. This is the first fall in a few years I haven't had them coming into the house in NH.

I usually see them in the garden in the summer, but not this year. Guess they went to Pittsburgh! The only thing I can recommend is catching them in a paper towel (being careful not to piss them off . . . trust me)and either releasing them outside or giving them a burial at sea (down the toilet). Do not, under any circumstances, crush them inside the house. They don't call them stink bugs for nothing.

[Gin]

6. she is creeped out because there are so many....the internet posts

suggest alcohol or ammonia & water in a bowl or container with a lid...scoop them into the bowl and put the lid on...they die without emitting the smell...also she is gonna try a mixture of dish soap and water..

they came in a crack around a window and were all over the curtain...yuk...

[Ruby the Liberal]

4. They have no natural enemy, unfortunately.

They were introduced into Allentown about 10 years ago and are taking over the northeast.

I saw a report on the news about a group who is developing a hybrid creature that will feed on them, but it won't be released for 2 years because they need to ensure that they aren't going to cause a bigger mess.

Dastardly things can flatten themselves to the size of a sheet of paper and just slide in under the screens.

[meow mix]

10. "developing a hybrid creature"

ut oh.

[Ruby the Liberal]

14. I googled it for you, but couldn't find anything.

It was something a University is working on with crickets or spiders or something. I wish I could remember exactly what they said.

The US Dept of Ag is working with Japan and China where these things are native to see about potentially importing a native predator as well.

[GoCubsGo]

5. Indoors or outdoors?

If outdoors, they'll likely be gone with the first hard freeze, which I suspect is coming soon. Indoors...a vacuum with a hose attachment. Suck 'em up, bag 'em, and toss them. Then seal up all the cracks in the house where they came in.

[Nictuku]

7. Cedarcide

All natural, non toxic, kills fleas, ticks, lice, bedbugs... and stink bugs.

http://www.cedarcidestore.com/cedarproducts.html

[Gin]

8. interesting...will pass it on to her..

[otohara]

9. eucalyptus oil

get a bottle from the health food store and a 6 oz spray bottle - mix em together and shake it up.

Spray away....

[Bertha Venation]

11. We've got 'em too, in So. Maryland

A scourge and a plague. I hope your sister has good luck. Me, I'm just trying to flick the little bastards away. Although one landed on me when I was outside this afternoon and I freaked...

[zbdent]

12. I heard that sonic devices can drive away bugs sometimes ...

play a tape of Sarah Palin ...

[Cirque du So-What]

17. Good idea

but consider the unfortunate humans within earshot!

[malaise]

13. Wipe out the place with vinegar

diluted one part vinegar to three parts water. Also works wonders for ants.

[FSogol]

15. They are really quite friendly. Scoop them up in your hands and throw them outside.

:shrug:
Some Buddhist blood must of gotten into my Celtic ancestry somewhere.

[Imajika]

19. That's what I do...

Just pick them up and toss them outside.

They really are everywhere here in Northern Virginia though. I can't believe how many are finding there way into the house.

[FSogol]

21. I'm in No. Va also. I'm chasing them out of my Jeep daily. n/t

[Imajika]

22. I just put 3 more back outside today...

I am sure there are more wandering around, but 3 have been returned to nature! Wow, they really are everywhere!

[PCIntern]

16. I had the worst fucking experience yesterday...

I was talking to a patient and she said, "You have a stinkbug on the glass." I told her, "Yes, we've had a lot of them on the windows lately, some on the inside." she replied, "Well, this one isn't on the windows, it's on your glasses (magnifying loupes which I wear to work).

and there it was...nailed it with the hi-volume suction.

[bbinacan]

18. Plenty of them here

in Washington, PA. I saw a praying mantis having a nice lunch of them yesterday.

[old mark]

20. The only recommendation we found was to keep them out of the house, and

when you find them in the house, squish them by hand using a paper towel...they are mostly unaffected by bug sprays, and no birds or other bugs want to eat them. You have to kill them by hand...and they are tough!

We have also sucked them into a very powerful vacuum cleaner and pureed them, but they make the vacuum stink.

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