<p>how would one describe the smell ? I really need something else to worry about ;)</p>
<p>PaMOM - that was a very helpful link thank- you. I pulled up the PSU info sheet and they indicated that although pesticides can be used outside, they only last a few days - so I’m not sure it’s a good investment. I guess we need to find those cracks and holes! We’ll also keep our cars sealed up…no more open windows in the garage!
I’m SOOO glad to hear they don’t bite. It’s bad enough to have those things crawling on me. Or flying into me when I’m quietly reading in the family room (they’re like dive bombers!)
Anyway, I wish there was simple home remedy I could turn to - I don’t know, vinegar or red pepper around the windowsills. Guess not though…</p>
<p>lje62 - It’s hard to describe the smell, but personally I don’t think it is as bad as they make it sound. Perhaps it depends on every individual’s sense of smell. It is a definite odor but not particularly foul to me…maybe a little sweet smelling? I don’t like it, but I don"t find it repulsive either. My dogs rolling in things in the yard smells much worse LOL</p>
<p>How would you describe it toneranger?</p>
<p>oh…that smell IS hard to describe. Kind of a powdery acrid smell. It’s not so bad when it has a large area to dissipate into…but it was BAD in a car. Of course, I’m pretty sensitive to smell too.<br>
During the winter, I found they loved hanging around in linens and clothes. So the bed incident was bad, but having one crawl up my pj bottoms was even worse. Yuk. I can’t believe I have to learn to live with these guys.</p>
<p>We’ve always called them prehistorics:) They don’t bother us, in fact I always thought they were a bit like lady bugs…we let them be during the winter and let them out in the spring.</p>
<p>They don’t particularly bother me either, but if I were getting them in my bed or my breakfast, it would be a different story!</p>
<p>Knock on wood, I haven’t seen them at our house. </p>
<p>But, what do y’all mean when you say they’re “big?” Dime size? larger? smaller? </p>
<p>And do they stink all the time? When stepped on? Threatened? This is grossing me out. I’m not a bug person. :eek:</p>
<p>They’re about an inch long. And they only stink if you crush them, hence the gentle handling with tissues and the flushing. 
They’re very easy to pick up, and don’t sting, bite, etc. I grew up in NYC with roaches, and I’ll take stinkbugs any day!</p>
<p>^^^
the one in my car let out its stink without being crushed…I swiped at it and it went into panic mode. Never did find it…
Yeah, they’re better than roaches. But once enough get in your house, they get a bit out of control. They’ve been around for at least a few years and really only got on my nerves recently. I’m kinda use to seeing em now - but NOT happy with them crawling on me or dive bombing.</p>
<p>My young cat had a YouTube moment with a stink bug last fall. Too bad I did not have a camera ready to film! The stink bug was on the ceiling in the living room, and the cat meowed and clawed her way up the bookshelf knocking a potted plant on the way. Finally, when I vacuumed up the dirt, H knocked the stinkbug off for the cat to have some fun. The cat pounced on the prey, sniffed, wrinkled her nose in disgust (I have never seen a cat do that!), jumped back, then cautiously approached the bug again, touched it with her paw, sniffed, jumped back in disgust… It lasted for a few minutes until H decided that the stench was unbearable and threw the bug outside.</p>
<p>^^^ lol
My dog goes after bug with his paws…but he leaves these boys alone. Won’t get near them. Smart dog.</p>
<p>Yesterday I was out weeding my garden and I have figured out what stinkbugs smell like!!
They smell exactly like fresh cilantro leaves! I even rubbed some cilantro on my fingers and waved them under my husband’s nose and he thought I had a stinkbug encounter. I like cilantro, but I guess the smell is not really that pleasing.
Does anyone else agree with that description?</p>
<p>And I thought cockroaches in NYC apartments was gross!! This stuff seems really yucky. :(</p>
<p>Cockroaches are much, much worse, IMO. They carry diseases and have a much bigger ‘yuck’ factor than stink bugs. One of the joys, for me, of moving from the city to suburbia was that in 23+ years I’ve never had a cockroach in my house. I’m more than happy to trade that for the occasional ant, bee, or stinkbug! (When H and I were dating, we would walk into his NYC apartment and as he flipped on the light he’d say “Buenos noches, roaches”. Then we’d watch them scatter. :::shudder::: )</p>
<p>OK, Booklady, I agree that roaches are worse. But I don’t think you understand how many stinkbugs some of us are dealing with. I killed five today. They crawl on me in bed and show up in folded laundry. I found one swimming in my glass of water the other day. And it’s not even winter…the worst time of the year. Very gross.
No, I don’t think the smell is Cilantro. I LIKE Cilantro…I despise the stink bug smell. So maybe it’s that weird gene that makes cilantro unappealing to some people…I think I read about that on one of the CC threads recently. Now that you mentioned it though, I’m not sure I’ll be able to buy fresh cilantro again…guilt by association I think.</p>
<p>Yes, crawling on you in bed is pretty bad, I have to admit. I’ve often killed five a day (in the winter), but they seem to stay on the ground floor in our house and the bedrooms are upstairs. I do hope you find a solution - it does sound like you have them a lot worse than we do.</p>
<p>They’re all over Charlottesville and UVA dorms eeeeeek.</p>
<p>toneranger- I was at a friend’s house later in the day and she was making guacamole. She started to chop up some fresh cilantro when I had my back turned and I immediately thought “Oh,there’s a stinkbug in here”. When I saw that she had cilantro I had to laugh. Maybe I have the weird cilantro gene that I equate the smell with stinkbug, but I do use cilantro in my cooking so it’s not that I hate cilantro. I just found it very odd. </p>
<p>I have been finding a lot of dead stinkbugs lately, in addition to the live ones. It seems like every night lately one will be buzzing around in the bedroom when we go to bed and we have to catch it before we can fall asleep. Thank goodness they haven’t crawled into my bed or landed on me!
I am sick of them.</p>