Stink Bugs !

[Steven@147]

Anyone else notice the stink bugs are bad this year? It started for us last fall up in Indiana, now down here in Galveston they are just as bad! We keep getting them inside the RV.
Little suckers are as bad as ants, can crawl through very small tight places, or fly right in the door.

 

[trailrydr]

Anyone else notice the stink bugs are bad this year? It started for us last fall up in Indiana, now down here in Galveston they are just as bad! We keep getting them inside the RV.
Little suckers are as bad as ants, can crawl through very small tight places, or fly right in the door.

Here in MO, with temps in the 20's one week and then 60's the next and seeing flys and other insects recently, I would think that early bug sightings are gonna become more common everywhere in the southern and midwestern states this year.

 

[Fsalmy]

I hate stink bugs. They are literally coming out of the wood work of our 150 yr old farm house every time the temp hits 55* or higher. Usually they are at their most active around here in the fall, but they are everywhere right now. I have found nothing to stop them other than to seal/caulk siding, windows, door trim, etc. A lot of our windows are wood, ancient and are of the single hung-type. I'm pretty sure a small dog could squeeze through some of the jambs. Anyway, I've read that a spray bottle with an essential oil mixture of 10 drops each of clove, lemongrass and spearmint oil in 16 oz of water will repel stink bugs. Never tried it. I did use a homemade trap suggested by Virginia Tech - roaster pan filled with water and dish soap placed under a desk lamp. It caught a lot of stink bugs, but they were also all over the lamp, the dresser, the side of the pan. It seemed to attract more bugs inside than without it. Several folks around here swear by placing osage oranges (Maclura pomifera) in old mesh stockings and placing them below windows, inside and outside, to repel stink bugs. I think the stocking is for easy disposal because the osage oranges ultimately rot.

 

[ajg617]

Were in North Carolina last few weeks and they were abundant in a brand new house with well sealed windows - didn't make a difference they still got in. Back up in NH where the temps are going down, you find them in the gas pump LCDs - sometimes hard to read the display through all the bugs. As soon as I light a fire in the wood stove, the stink bugs and ladybugs come out of the woodwork. Even the cats won't go after them.

 

[Steven@147]

One year it was flies, the next lady bugs, now I guess it's time for the stink bugs ! When we first got to Galveston the mosquitos were terrible, couldn't even walk to the beach ! With a couple days of cold weather the mosquitos went away, but not the darn stink bugs, if anything they got worse. I guess they are put here to remind humans not to get so uppity !

 

[RobertS377]

We live in Maryland and these things get into every nook and cranny. I was working in the RV a few days ago and lifted the bed platform to access the storage space. I found dozens of them camped out in the wooden framing and hinges, not dead just sluggish. They get into everything, linens, clothes, my wife's hair Hate those little buggers...

 

[palomino820]

I keep a cup with soapy water in it on the counter. Whenever one shows its ugly self I just hold the cup up to it so it falls in. The soapy water kills them. I did spray an insecticide around windows, doors and around slide, but still they get in. A product call Demand CS is what I use , on my house also, it has a residual effect. But how do we keep them out in the first place?? Has anyone tried sealing up the ac on the roof for winter storage? With stretch wrap or something?

 

[trailrydr]

........Has anyone tried sealing up the ac on the roof for winter storage? With stretch wrap or something?

We have seen lots of AC units on homes in the southwest do it every year. Wouldnt think it would hurt RV AC's during storage and non use.

Unfortunately, they can get in places smaller than what a mouse can get into. So trying to seal up an RV completely while in storage would take alot of shrink wrap - and may still be futile at best!

BTW, this is first year (in MO) we've noticed spider webs in and around our trailer..... but, we also haven't camped as much this year either. Bugs tend to like dormant structures.

 

[Riverbug]

Are those what we call Asian Beetles up in MN? Those get into everything and smell when you crush them.

 

[palomino820]

Yep, shaped like a shield and smell awful.

 

[Steven@147]

Oh, the little suckers are a pain!