How To Reduce Stink Bugs Infestation Using Caulk

The last two years, us Marylanders and N. Virginia residence sure have had our share of pesty house guests: Stink Bugs! It is now January, and I still see a few of these critters crawling around certain areas of my home. I truly hate these nasty bugs. I tried extra hard this past fall to reduce the infestation. My first attempt was to hire an exterminator company. It cost about $225 for two separate eco-friendly spray downs of my property. I definitely noticed a difference, and will probably do this again. However, I think I was a little late when I called them.

Next, I found a few areas in my soffits, which leads to my attic, that stink bugs could crawl into, therefore making a nice cozy place for themselves during the winter. I then noticed they were pouring into my master bathroom and bedroom daily. After spraying my house and reducing the current population of stink bugs, I then got out my gun. Yep! My caulking gun that is. I put a full paintable caulking tube in place and began caulking cracks around my windows and vents. I noticed a night and day difference after I caulked up my windows in my master suite. I could see them crawling through the tiniest cracks in my windows. Once I caulked them all up, no more stink bugs!

Well, this past weekend, I had over a half dozen in my bathroom. So I got out the caulking gun and caulked the vents and solar tube up even more. So we'll see how that works. The window caulking truly helped!

Finally, I also replaced the weather stripping around our entry door and made it an airtight seal. Before I did this, they were marching right through our entry door. Caulking and weatherstripping has truly worked wonders. My one problem is my house is not new. So, I keep finding little places a bug can crawl through. When I do, caulk is installed right away! I think I already had a lot of stink bugs living in my attic before the winter set in, and that is why they keep coming out of my vents. If I started my caulking project before these bugs arrived, I may not have had as many this year.

Tip: If you are comfortable with a caulking gun, go to work in the Spring or early Summer to caulk the exterior surfaces of your home. This will keep spiders, bees, wasp, bats, birds and stink bugs out of your home! Then go indoors and see if you missed any areas: like vents and the windows. Hallco Enterprises also will perform caulking under our painter for a day program. (Word of caution: don't caught your windows so you can't open them. Just look to see if the window glides have holes big enough for a bug to crawl through. I had them and caulked them shut: no more bugs).