Are you in a messy situation where Stink bugs are infesting your garden? Are you getting nauseated by its nasty odor? Keep these stinky pests away by following some simple hacks at home.
Be rest assured to get rid of them by not having to spend on those expensive pest killers. This Upcoming tutorial will help you in this mammoth task, learn how to deter stink bugs without causing a hole in your pockets.
What you need to know about stink bugs?
Stink bugs, though, are not known to cause any physical harm, can spoil the natural feel of your home with its smelly odor. Winter is the time they are in dire need of shelters and can end up in your homes at uncanny places.
Having to deal with these unwelcome visitors is sure to make your winters more distressing. These pests are a major threat to crops and fruit plantations. However, it does not cause rashes or any other health risks.
As a homeowner who treasures the interiors and gardens with great care, keeping them away from pests has been quite a challenge. Turning to pest control companies to deal with these insects can eat away a good chunk of your budget.
Why not try some of our proven tactics to keep these six-legged visitors away from both your garden and indoors? Below I have put together some of my sought and tested hacks on how to deter stink bugs using natural methods.
How to Deter Stink Bugs In Eco-Friendly Way?
Going by the famous saying Prevention is better than cure holds good in dealing with these pests as well. Removing them from your home is a messy job, indeed owing to the undesirable odor it emits if attacked.
So first, let’s take a look at how we are going to stop them from entering our homes. Here are some cost-effective, simple, and eco-friendly ways to deter these winter pests.
For these natural methods, all you need are some of the commonly used necessities in our home and some courage to deal with these pests.
- Essentials Oil
- Garlic powder
- Diatomaceous
1) Essential Oils
Stink bugs hate anything that smells better than them, jokes apart.
- Simply mix 10 drops of mint essential oil in 16 ounces of water and spray it on your window sills, doors and other entry points.
- This hack can turn away those foul-smelling bugs while also making your home fragrant and cozy.
Go for this method to kill two birds in one shot.
2) Block All Entry Points
Stink bugs hate anything that smells better than them, jokes apart.
- Take up the timely maintenance of your home. Make sure you seal all cracks or crevices that can lead these insects into your homes.
- Placing fine mesh over air vents will help in checking their entry through these vents.
3) Dryer Sheets
- Rub your window screens and other entry points with a dryer sheet.
- The odor from dryer sheets is known to keep these insects away.
Homeowners who have used this method say that they could stop the entry of stink bugs up to 80%.
4) Damp Towel Hack
- Hang a wet towel on the railing of your deck or sit out overnight.
- Next morning dispatch this towel into a bucket of soapy water.
This method is slightly messy as you might not fancy the idea of having to deal with these insects directly.
5) Place Diatomaceous Earth
- Spread this earth-friendly natural rock at entry paths such as doors and windows.
- This will cause the insect to die of dehydration.
6) Garlic Spray
- Make your own natural bug repellant by mixing four tablespoons of garlic powder with two cups of water.
- Spray it at all the entry points to keep the bugs from entering your home.
This hack is the most cost-effective method which can be made with ingredients from your kitchen cabinet.
7) Squish a few bugs
- the odor from squishing these bugs will deter the remaining of the lot from entering your home.
I am not all a good fan of this hack as the odor outs me off even before it reached the bug.
Other Preventive Measures
Now we have learned how to stop them from entering. What if you already have some flying and crawling around in your home. The whole scene gives me a creepy feel and would go to any extent to get rid of that feeling. So, get set to battle them with these hacks.
- Empty water bottles
- Vacuum Cleaners with removable bags
- Soapy solution
- Plastic bags
- Insecticides or repellant devices
1) Bottle tactic
I have tried this time and again to trap unsuspecting insects.
- Take an empty water bottle.
- Use the lid and gently push the insect into the bottle and fasten the lid.
- Hurrah your enemy is defeated, now you can either put the bottle outside or flush the bugs out.
This, of course, requires a lot of courage (those who have insect phobia) also it requires a lot of time and patience.
2) Vacuum them out
- Use this method only if your vacuum has an attached removable bag.
- Vacuum these insects and immediately empty it into a bucket of soapy solution else you might have a stink bomb ticking.
3) Plastic Bag
- Grab them gently by wearing gloves and put them into a plastic bag.
- You can again put them in the soapy solution to drown them.
4) Insecticides or bug sprays
Effective insecticides can be used outside your homes to deter these pests.
- Black Flag flying insect killer, dry fog can be used to keep your homes free from bug infests.
- Use it outdoors to make sure you repel these pests at the time of infestation for better results.
- You can also try the eco-friendly pest control option Ultrasonic Pest repeller. It is pet and child safe. Use these inaudible sound waves to repel those stink bugs into oblivion.
Abstain from using insecticides inside your house as cleaning up their carcasses is not an easy task; it might also attract other pests. I had used insecticides only once when, in one season, the bugs infested my lawn from all sides. It worked effectively in killing them and deterring the remaining population from entering.
Conclusion
These hacks and solutions will help you keep your home secure from those undesirable creepy insects. However, always keep a close watch on the hygiene of your house.
Do let us know if these hacks worked for you by using the comments section below. You can also share with us any hacks you know that will work better to repel the stink bugs.