It’s harvest season, crops are coming down in many areas and displacing familiar fall pests like stink bugs. These prehistoric looking bugs seem to enter your house out of thin air but once they make it into your home, they’ll bask in the sunlight during the day and then retreat into gaps underneath siding, around windows and doors during the cooler nights.
Avoiding stink bugs can seem like a challenge but Holper’s knows just how to handle these nuisance pests. They are also known to feed on ornamental plants and weeds that grow close to homes and other buildings.
This is all about their eating habits in summer; since they do not generate their heat on their own, they have to rely on external surroundings to keep themselves warm. Therefore they hibernate in cold seasons.
Do Stink Bugs Bite?
Normally, they do not. However, they will bite if they feel threatened. The bite area may have some swelling or rash and may feel painful, but harmless. Even though a stink bugs’ bite is usually treated as a non-poisonous bite for adults, it may prove poisonous for small children and pets. Some people relate their pungent smelling liquid with that of poison, but Stink Bugs emit a foul smelling liquid only to deter predators.
Stink Bug Invasion in Homes
In late summer and early fall, shorter days and decreasing temperatures cause adult stink bugs to seek shelter during their overwintering phase, a period in their life cycle where they are inactive. They hide in your home in a state of hibernation during the winter season. When stink bugs locate a suitable location, they release an aggregation pheromone that attracts other stink bugs to the site. They do not damage structures, eat fabrics or consume foods stored inside the home. In fact, females are incapable of reproducing until early spring.
Stink bugs gain entry into structures through cracks around windows and door trims, gaps and holes in foundations, soffits, attics, under or behind baseboards, and around exhaust fans or lights in the ceiling.
If you see a stink bug in your home, never crush them! It will force them to eject a foul smell which tempts other bugs to invade your house. Home and building owners often attempt to get rid of stink bug populations on their own before they decide to contact a pest control professional. Contacting Holper’s Pest & Animal Solutions in advance could help save timer, labor, money and aggravation.