LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Tuesday marks the second official day of fall, and along with cooler weather that also means bugs may start invading your house.
Experts say the hot and dry weather recently may have boosted some insect populations. You may especially notice brown marmorated stink bugs this time of year.
“Unlike your grandparents which may evacuate to Florida or Arizona or something like that, they look at your house like that resort that they can go to over the winter to survive the cold temperatures,” said University of Kentucky Extension Entomologist Jonathan Larson.
Larson says his office has started getting a lot of questions about the brown, spotted bugs.
He says in the fall they typically start congregating on the siding of your home, mostly on the south and west sides.
“They don't feed on the structure, they don't feed on people. Sometimes people if they're exposed to enough of them they can become allergic to the secretions that come out of the stink bug and that musky smell can really be aggravating to allergies and asthma. So you don't really want them around,” said Larson.
Larson says they feed on fruits and vegetables and can do a lot of damage to crops, but they're more so just a nuisance to people.
“Seal cracks up with silicone caulking or expandable foam, check under doors to make sure there's no gap - like that rubber strip make sure it meets the floor. You should also check window screening,” said Larson.
Larson recommends hiring a professional if you want to spray outside to get rid of them. He says there's also a home remedy you can use.
“Just dish soap and water will actually destroy a lot of stink bugs,” said Larson.
He tells us now is the time to bug-proof your home, because the creepy invaders will only get worse.
“Box elder bugs is another one that a lot of people might be familiar with, and then the multi-colored Asian lady beetle that comes about a month after the brown marmorated stink bug starts to appear,” said Larson.
Yikes.
To learn more about bugs in our area and how to protect your home: https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/entfacts
