4 months ago
10
BATTLEGROUND STATE. WHEN THE WEATHER STARTS TO GET COLD, WE ALL PROBABLY SPEND MORE TIME INDOORS. WELL, APPARENTLY BUGS ARE JUST LIKE US IN MANY SPECIES, RIGHT NOW ARE SEARCHING FOR A PLACE TO SPEND THE COLD, COLD MONTHS, ESPECIALLY STINK BUGS. OUR WVTM13’S LISA CRANE IS LIVE AND LOCAL FOR US IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. LISA. NO ONE WANTS TO SHACK UP WITH ALL THE STINK BUGS THIS WINTER. ABSOLUTELY NOT. AND YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU REALIZE IT OR NOT, YOU MAY ACTUALLY BE INVITING THEM INTO YOUR HOME BECAUSE THEY DON’T NEED A LOT OF SPACE TO GET IN ONLY A 10TH OF AN INCH. THAT’S THE WIDTH OF TWO PENNIES STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. AND THEY CAN GET IN. SO JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CAULK MISSING HERE IN YOUR WINDOW. OR MAYBE THERE’S MAYBE SOME WEATHER STRIPPING MISSING FROM YOUR DOOR. AND THEY’RE IN. THEY DON’T BITE OR STING OR CARRY DISEASES, BUT THEY ARE REAL UGLY AND SMELLY NUISANCE. IF YOU SQUISH THEM, YOU’RE GOING TO SMELL THEM. IF YOU THREATEN THEM LIKE THEY FEEL LIKE YOU’RE ABOUT TO KILL THEM, THEY’LL RELEASE THE ODOR. IT’S A DEFENSE MECHANISM. THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN STINK BUGS START TO LOOK FOR A NICE, DRY, WARM PLACE TO SPEND THEIR WINTERS. AND THEY’RE NOT THE ONLY BUGS ON THE HUNT. THESE LADYBUG LOOKALIKES WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SPEND THE WINTER IN YOUR HOME. TYPICAL ONE THAT WE SEE IS THE ASIAN MULTICOLORED LADY BEETLE THAT WILL COME INSIDE AND YOU’LL SEE THOSE SAME KIND OF TIME FRAME AS YOU WOULD THE STINK BUGS. THESE BUGS CAN SQUEEZE IN PARC DARNELL OWNS PEST X PEST CONTROL. HE SAYS THEY’VE RECEIVED MANY CALLS FROM HOMEOWNERS WHO WANT TO GET THE STINKY CRITTERS OUT OF THEIR HOUSE. HE SAYS THEY CAN KILL THEM BEFORE THEY EVER MAKE IT INSIDE. WE’RE GOING TO SPRAY LIKE A PESTICIDE, TEN FOOT UP AND TEN FOOT OUT. SO WE’RE GOING TO PUT IT ON THE GROUND, AND WE’RE ALSO GOING TO PUT IT ON YOUR ON YOUR HOUSE ITSELF, PUT IT AROUND YOUR WINDOWS, PUT IT ON YOUR EAVES, ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO TRY TO PREVENT IT BECAUSE THEY’LL WALK THROUGH IT, DIGEST IT, DIE LIKE THEY’LL NEVER GET INTO THE HOUSE. BUT IF YOU’D RATHER DEAL WITH THEM ON YOUR OWN, JUST DON’T GIVE THEM AWAY. INSIDE. MAKE SURE TO SEAL UP WINDOWS AND DOORS AND PUT SCREENS ON ATTIC VENTS. BUT IF YOU FIND ONE INSIDE, GENTLY PICK IT UP AND GET RID OF IT. TRY TO AVOID THE STINK NOW IF YOU HAVE THEM IN YOUR HOUSE THIS YEAR, THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE THEY’LL BE BACK NEXT WINTER. DARNELL SAYS THEY ACTUALLY SECRETE AN ODOR THAT MARKS YOUR HOME, TELLING NEXT SEASON’S STINK BUGS AND OTHER INSECTS THAT THIS IS A NICE, COMFORTABLE, WARM PLACE TO STAY FO
How to keep stink bugs out of your home this winter
When the weather starts to get cold, we all probably spend more time indoors. Apparently, bugs are just like us. Many species are, right now, searching for a place to spend the cold months, especially stink bugs. No one wants to shack up all winter with stink bugs, and whether you realize it or not, you might actually be inviting them in. They only need about a tenth of an inch opening. That's the width of two stacked pennies. So, a spot left uncaulked around your window, or even under your door, is big enough.They don't bite, sting or carry diseases, but they are a really ugly and smelly nuisance. Parker Darnell is the owner of Pest X Pest Control. He said, “If you squish them, you're going to smell them. If you threaten them like they feel like you're about to kill them, they'll release the odor. It's a defense mechanism.”This is the time of year when stink bugs start to look for a nice, dry and warm place to spend their winters. And they're not the only bugs on the hunt. Ladybug look-alikes would also like to spend the winter in your home. Dr. Jim Jacoby with Alabama Cooperative Extension said, “The typical one that we see is the Asian multicolored lady beetle that will come inside and, you'll see those, (during the) same kind of time frame as you would the stink bugs.”Darnell said they've received many calls from homeowners who want to get the stinky critters out of their homes. He said they can kill them before they ever make it in. “We're going to spray a pesticide ten foot up and ten foot out. So, we're going to put it on the ground, and we're also going to put it on your house itself. Put it around your windows, put it on your eaves. Anything like that to try to prevent it because they'll walk through it, digest it, die. They'll never get into the house," he said.But if you'd rather deal with them yourself, just don't give them a way in. Make sure to seal up windows and doors and put screens on attic vents. But if you find one inside, gently pick it up and get rid of it and try to avoid the stink.If you have them in your house this year, they'll probably be back next year. Darnell said they secrete an odor that marks your home to tell the beetles next year that this is a nice comfortable home where they can overwinter.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. —
When the weather starts to get cold, we all probably spend more time indoors. Apparently, bugs are just like us. Many species are, right now, searching for a place to spend the cold months, especially stink bugs. No one wants to shack up all winter with stink bugs, and whether you realize it or not, you might actually be inviting them in. They only need about a tenth of an inch opening. That's the width of two stacked pennies. So, a spot left uncaulked around your window, or even under your door, is big enough.
They don't bite, sting or carry diseases, but they are a really ugly and smelly nuisance. Parker Darnell is the owner of Pest X Pest Control. He said, “If you squish them, you're going to smell them. If you threaten them like they feel like you're about to kill them, they'll release the odor. It's a defense mechanism.”
This is the time of year when stink bugs start to look for a nice, dry and warm place to spend their winters. And they're not the only bugs on the hunt. Ladybug look-alikes would also like to spend the winter in your home. Dr. Jim Jacoby with Alabama Cooperative Extension said, “The typical one that we see is the Asian multicolored lady beetle that will come inside and, you'll see those, (during the) same kind of time frame as you would the stink bugs.”
Darnell said they've received many calls from homeowners who want to get the stinky critters out of their homes. He said they can kill them before they ever make it in.
“We're going to spray a pesticide ten foot up and ten foot out. So, we're going to put it on the ground, and we're also going to put it on your house itself. Put it around your windows, put it on your eaves. Anything like that to try to prevent it because they'll walk through it, digest it, die. They'll never get into the house," he said.
But if you'd rather deal with them yourself, just don't give them a way in. Make sure to seal up windows and doors and put screens on attic vents. But if you find one inside, gently pick it up and get rid of it and try to avoid the stink.
If you have them in your house this year, they'll probably be back next year. Darnell said they secrete an odor that marks your home to tell the beetles next year that this is a nice comfortable home where they can overwinter.
English (US)