BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO/Gray News) – With temperatures cooling down, you may see an increase in bugs trying to get into your home, especially stink bugs.
Stink bugs have a habit of finding any space in your home to comfortably ride out the winter months, especially the invasive brown marmorated stink bug.
The brown marmorated stink bug was first spotted in the United States in 1998 in Pennsylvania and has been seen across the eastern part of the country since.
Stink bugs do not pose a threat to people or pets but they can shock people who do not expect them.
“They’re not carrying disease and they’re not toxic,” said Western Kentucky University biology professor Keith Philips. “The only thing that stink bugs do is they stink. If you harass them or crush them, you’re going to smell the odor.”
The notorious odor that comes from a stink bug is released from a gland on the side of the thorax as a defense mechanism.
Philips says the best way to keep stink bugs from penetrating your home is to caulk any possible entry points the bugs might use to get inside, such as weather stripping on doors or windows that can wear down over time.
If they do manage to get inside, there are a couple of options for removing them.
Philips said you could pick the bugs up and toss them outside, but added that the bugs may make their way back into your home.
“I’ve heard of people having hundreds, literally hundreds coming into their house, so maybe that’s not the easiest way to do it,” he said.
Philips recommends using a vacuum to remove the stink bugs.
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