<p>My mom said she saw a report on the news last night in which there was a warning not to vacuum them unless you use a vacuum you don’t intend to use for anything else. Evidently the smell is almost impossible to remove, even after you replace the bag.</p>
<p>cartera45–I was worried about that, but it’s just impossible to hand pick this many stinkbugs. Guess I’ll find out if I’ve ruined my vac. :(</p>
<p>Possibly the smell is something some people are more sensitive to than others. There are so many in our house and out on our deck that I can not just smell them, but TASTE them in the back of my throat every time I inhale. Yuk. But my husband can’t smell them at all.</p>
<p>Praying for a hard frost! But my H just looked online and learned that they “overwinter” in houses. NOOOO.</p>
<p>I am hoping this is one of those strange short-lived insect population booms. A number of springs ago we had so many tent caterpillars that all the deciduous trees in town were completely stripped of leaves, and had to grow them afresh. The following year things were back to normal.</p>
<p>DougBetsy, Some people EAT the pests, so your stinkbug-eating lab should be OK:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yuck, yuck, yuck!</p>
<p>Thanks for that (very disgusting) info mapesy.</p>
<p>Bad here!! OK…so you’re supposed to spray just before it gets cool to prevent all those outdoor buggers from coming in (overwintering). You can get a professional exterminator or buy Talstar online and spray it around the house using a gallon sprayer. We are doing the spray this weekend. In the meantime, we are keeping windows closed (probably for two weeks) and are spraying the screens with a mixture of Dawn and water. </p>
<p>The smell? Just awful. Like Cilantro that’s gone bad in the fridge. Yuk.</p>
<p>From a fox news report on Sept 21</p>
<p>“In some parts of the world, like Mexico, the stink bug is considered a delicacy. They are often put in tacos, and the people who eat them say they have a cinnamon flavor. The bugs are rich in vitamin B2.”</p>
<p>Ewwwww…another reason not to go to Mexico!! (But I think our dogs will be allright :))</p>
<p>Feels good to commiserate. I feel like a crazy lady–every 15 minutes I’m up vacuuming around the windows–I can’t help myself. I’ve decided it’s definitely worth sacrificing the vacuum. I’ve gotten about 30 minutes worth of work done in the last 3 1/2 hours. Good thing they pay me by the job, not by the hour.</p>
<p>Unless they start biting, I’m not worrying about them. They don’t bite do they?</p>
<p>Today with temps in high 80s, they are everywhere (outside at least!) - every screen has a handful of them. They don’t stink as much as smell like cilantro. Never saw them before this year. Weird!</p>
<p>Yesterday I squirted them wth a pine cleaner/water mixture. No luck. Then tried Windex. No luck. Then Lysol. No luck.</p>
<p>I read in the newspaper to try 1 part dish soap to 3 parts water.</p>
<p>Make sure the dish soap is Dawn. It’s the best one to use. Sprayed our screens and they’re keeping away!!</p>
<p>^^Thanks for the tip!</p>
<p>What is it about Dawn? We used to mix a little Dawn and water for a cheap fly spray at the stable.</p>
<p>California is so screwed up in so many ways…yet, we are stink bug free (I have to Google what the heck the things are!)…so I guess things are not all bad!
Good luck and happy exterminating!</p>
<p>There are tons outside here (trying to sit at my son’s baseball game on Sunday was quite the adventure!) but we have only had three total so far in the house. One thing I have found out is that if you use a fly swatter and hit them super fast and super hard, you can kill them instantly with no stink at all. It’s like it kills them before they can activate their defense mechanism. Or stuns them really badly or something. Anyway, give it a try.</p>
<p>I’m deciding about getting the Talstar or not. My understanding is that it washes away in rain so I’m not sure it’s worth it.</p>
<p>Where are all of you? I have never heard of stinkbugs. They sound awful - please tell me none of you are in NY or points north…</p>
<p>From what I understand, they were accidentally (or not) brought over from Asia to Pennsylvania. They are since moving to points south steadily over the past 2-3 years. I’ve heard of them as far South this year as North Carolina.</p>
<p>We have stinkbugs here in wa as well! If I had a Youtube account, I would have posted the video of my cat encountering a stinkbug for the first time in her life. Her usually unemotional cat face was showing pure disgust after she took a sniff of the stinker! I’ve never seen a cat wrinkle her nose like she did. :)</p>
<p>Places I have seen stinkbugs. PA, NJ, MD, WV. Hate them!!</p>