A year or two ago in Northern Virginia, USA we started to see a new kind of bug from Asia. Called a stinkbug, it had no natural enemies here in the states and it started invading our homes. I have replaced all the doors and windows in my house in an effort to reduce the places that they can get in, but this year they are worse than ever. We see them the most near the fireplace and up inside the domed skylights in the family room and the master bathroom. Poison doesn’t work. We have modified a Dyson Vacuum with a PVC pipe to give it a ten foot reach and collect as many as a hundred a day and as few as thirty a day. They pretty much stay put and allow you to direct the end of the pipe right up against them and suck them into the Dyson where they let out a big stink and die in the jet stream.
Question number one: I did not replace the skylights. They have never leaked. I think that the bugs are attracted to the light and go up there from inside the house, not thru the roof/skylight interface. Skylights can be tricky around here. Neighbors with the same builder have had problems with them leaking in the past. I think I should leave well enough alone and not touch them. My wife thinks we should have them caulked which is kind of a big deal because they are in a cathedral ceiling and quite high up. Do skylights rely on flashing only? Should I let my motto of “If it aint broke, don’t fix it” prevail?
Question number two: Anyone out there have any experience with this bug? Any ideas?
Replies
We get invaded with lady bugs this time of year. They are looking for places to spend the winter. You'll see hundreds on buildings looking for places to get in. The little buggers bite, too. And they stink. They have been released as natural predators of aphids.
Skylights have step flashing that is interwoven with the roofing shingles. Bugs can easily craw in the spaces where the flashings overlap. That isn't the only place they will find to crawl in. If you have operating Vellux skylights, there are places that can't be sealed and they will find them.
Stink bugs are attracted to light. I would not replace the skylight but seal other possible entry holes.
I installed a skylight in my workshop many years ago and it has never leaked. The flashing was well designed and did not require caulking.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/acs-ptf100710.php
got em too
Yep I have the same issue but not as bad. I just pick them up with a paper towl and flush. Do not crush them as they emit an oder that attracts other bugs. It's kind of like japanese bettle traps they will only flock by the gazillions. Hopefully somehting from the lab will soon resolve the issue.
Odor attracts other bugs.
Bones. At first I thought that too. Then I read an article that said they think that their odor is a signal of danger to other bugs and keeps them away because they give off the stink when being attacked. Since getting them by hand became impossible in the skylights I just gave up on the odor thing and started vacuuming them with the ten foot wand. They always fire off the stink when they take the trip into the Dyson.
interesting
I had the ladybug problem last fall and used my festool vac to get them out of the corners of the windows that were high up and I could not reach.
They look like little stealth fighters and come in with imports from Asia. The ones we have don't try to get away when being picked up with a Kleenex, they rely on their stink for protection. It is not skunk nasty, just unpleasant
EDIT this is the first time I have been hit with the infamous double post.
They look like little stealth fighters and come in with imports from Asia. The ones we have don't try to get away when being picked up with a Kleenex, they rely on their stink for protection. It is not skunk nasty, just unpleasant
hey swen,
sort of like talking about bugs. there's one that prowls the hills here-abouts. it's 1 1/2" to 2" long, black and shiny ecto-skeleton and when it even THINKS it is in some danger, pauses, points it's butt-end up and lets loose a yellowish vapor that packs a serious punch! they're called darkling beetles. once, as a foolish kid, i collected about fifty in a shopping bag. curious, i took a wiff from the sack and was literally dropped to my knees.
eef
the three that i found the other day did not resist me picking them up.
We've been invaded here too. I believe they are coming down the fireplace flue, not through the windows. As a sort of test, I built a good fire and didn't have an invasion that night, but the next night they were back. We've made what we call the stink bug swimming pool; a tupperware container with a couple inches of water with dish soap. I quick flip puts them in the water and they can't swim worth a damn. Here's the bad news: The entomologist on a recent TV interview said the stink they emit tells the offspring where to come the following year, so they'll get worse year over year. Exterminators are trying to develop a lure to trap them like they did for japanese beetles. The good news is that they don't reproduce indoors.
Fireplace flue.
I finally got tired of hauling wood and tending fires so a couple of years ago I converted a regular fireplace to nice gas logs that I can arrange any way I like and the things look real. BUT code requires a small clamp on the flue to prevent it from ever being closed completely and I think some stinkbugs are coming down thru there. When I started a fire last week I was inundated with about a hundred bugs in the space of a couple of hours. I think they were already hiding in the sand under the logs where the gas seeps thru and the flames just drove them out into the room.
Great news about them not reproducing indoors. That was my big fear. By that I hope you mean that they don't lay eggs indoors.
"By that I hope you mean that
"By that I hope you mean that they don't lay eggs indoors."
That's correct. As I understand it, they lay the eggs on the leaves of trees that have broad leaves. They're coming inside to hole up for the winter.
bugs
Gee, I feel lucky with only scorpions and millipedes. ;-)
may not help, but....
just pick up some wasps at the local bug store?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-canada-destroyed-and-now-may-rescue-an-italian-treasure/article1618363/
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