How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs in Your House (and Keep Them Out)

Quick answer: To get rid of stink bugs, remove the ones inside without crushing them: vacuum them up and empty the vacuum outdoors, or knock them into a container of soapy water. Then seal the gaps they use to get in (window and door frames, siding, vents, utility lines) with caulk, weatherstripping and screens, ideally before they arrive in late summer. Indoor bug sprays don’t solve the problem.

If you’re searching for how to get rid of stink bugs, chances are they’re crawling on your curtains, buzzing into lamps or lined up on a sunny wall right now. The good news: they’re a nuisance, not a danger. They don’t bite, don’t damage your house and don’t breed indoors over the winter.

The bad news is that the ones you see are rarely the whole story, because many more may be tucked inside walls and the attic. This guide covers how to clear the ones inside without the smell, and how to seal the house so fewer get in next fall. It’s based on guidance from university extension entomologists and pest management experts.

Why are stink bugs in my house?

The stink bug most people find indoors is the brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive insect from East Asia first identified in Pennsylvania in the late 1990s. It has since spread to most of the country. It’s shield-shaped, mottled brown, about five-eighths of an inch long, with light bands on the antennae and along the edge of its body.

Stink bugs don’t come inside for food. As days get shorter in late summer and fall, usually September through November, adults look for a protected place to spend the winter. The sunny south- and west-facing walls of a house warm up in the afternoon and draw them in, and they squeeze through any gap they find.

Once inside, they settle into wall voids, attics, window frames and behind siding and go into a sleep-like state called diapause. On warm winter days, and again in spring, some wake up and wander into living spaces, drawn to light and warmth. That’s why you can keep finding a few stink bugs for months after the fall invasion ends.

Where they get in:

• Gaps around window frames, air conditioner units and window screens with small tears
• Worn weatherstripping and missing door sweeps
• Openings where pipes, cables, dryer vents and outdoor faucets pass through the wall
• Attic, soffit and gable vents without fine screening
• Cracks around chimneys, fascia boards and where siding meets the foundation

Do stink bugs bite or cause damage?

No. Stink bugs have mouthparts made to pierce plants, not skin, and they don’t carry diseases that affect people or pets. Indoors they don’t eat wood, fabric or food, and they don’t lay eggs during the winter.

The real problems are the smell and the numbers. When crushed or disturbed, they release a pungent, cilantro-like odor that can linger and may stain light fabrics. Outdoors, they feed on fruits and vegetables such as apples, peaches, tomatoes, peppers and sweet corn, leaving corky, discolored spots. For garden pests, see our guide on how to get rid of pests in the yard.

How to get rid of stink bugs: step by step

1. Don’t crush or swat them. Squashing a stink bug releases the smell and can stain walls, curtains and bedding. Handle them gently or use the methods below.
2. Vacuum the ones you can see. A vacuum is the fastest way to deal with a cluster on a window or ceiling. The smell can stick to the vacuum, so many people use a cheap handheld or shop vac just for bugs. A trick from extension experts: slip a knee-high nylon stocking into the wand, hold it in place with a rubber band, then tie off the stocking with the bugs inside.
3. Empty the vacuum outdoors right away. Stink bugs often survive the trip through the vacuum. Seal them in a plastic bag and put it in the outdoor trash, or drop them into soapy water.
4. Use a soapy-water container for stragglers. Fill a jar or plastic tub with water and a good squirt of dish soap. Stink bugs drop when disturbed, so hold the container under the bug and tap it in with a card. The soap breaks the surface tension so they sink and drown within minutes.
5. Set a simple light trap in problem rooms. At night, turn off the other lights, place a shallow pan of soapy water on the floor and set a desk lamp right over it. Stink bugs drawn to the light often fall into the water. It won’t catch all of them, but it helps in attics, spare rooms and sunrooms.
6. Place sticky traps where they gather. Glue traps on windowsills, along baseboards near windows and in the attic catch the ones walking around. They also show you where most bugs are getting in.
7. Find and seal the entry points. Look where bugs gather indoors and where they cluster outside on sunny afternoons. Seal gaps with exterior caulk, add weatherstripping and door sweeps, repair torn screens and add fine mesh behind attic and soffit vents. The prevention section below has the full checklist.
8. Keep going for a few weeks. Expect bugs to trickle out of the walls through winter and spring. A few a day is normal; dozens a day means there’s a big entry point you haven’t found yet.

Should you spray stink bugs inside the house?

Extension entomologists generally advise against spraying insecticides indoors for stink bugs. Sprays kill only the bugs they hit, have no lasting effect on the ones hidden in walls, and bugs that die inside wall voids can attract carpet beetles and other pests that feed on dead insects. If you’ve noticed small fuzzy larvae near windows after a stink bug season, read our guide on how to get rid of carpet beetles.

Outdoors, a perimeter insecticide applied to the siding, eaves and around windows in late summer can reduce how many bugs get in, but results are often modest because sunlight breaks many products down within days. This is usually a job for a licensed pest control pro who knows the timing and the label rules in your state.

If you use any insecticide, use it outdoors only and exactly as the label directs, including where it can be applied and how much. Wear gloves and eye protection, keep children and pets away until the treated area is dry, and never spray near food, fish tanks or bird cages. Keep glue traps where kids and pets can’t reach them; if a pet gets stuck, use vegetable oil to loosen the glue.

Do stink bug repellents work?

Honestly, not very well. There’s little good evidence that essential oils (mint, clove, lemongrass), dryer sheets or garlic sprays keep stink bugs out of a house. Some oils may kill a bug on direct contact, but that’s no better than a jar of soapy water.

Ultrasonic plug-in repellers have no good research behind them for stink bugs, or for most other pests. Outdoor pheromone traps sold for stink bugs can catch a lot of bugs, but they can also draw more of them into your yard, so they’re mainly useful for monitoring in orchards and gardens, placed well away from the house.

Bug zappers aren’t a good answer either. Stink bugs are only moderately attracted to UV light and they’re large and smelly when zapped. If you’re shopping for an outdoor zapper anyway, our bug zapper guide explains what they do well and what they don’t.

The equipment that helps

You don’t need much. A dedicated vacuum and a few sticky traps cover most homes, along with a caulk gun, a tube of exterior caulk, weatherstripping and door sweeps from any hardware store.

How to keep stink bugs out next year

Timing matters more than anything. Do your sealing in August or early September, before the fall invasion starts. Once bugs are inside the walls, sealing mostly traps them in, and they’ll find their way out indoors.

• Caulk the gaps. Seal around window and door frames, fascia boards, chimneys and where siding meets the foundation with a good silicone or silicone-latex exterior caulk.
• Fix screens and add door sweeps. Repair torn window screens and replace worn weatherstripping and door sweeps, including on the garage and basement doors.
• Screen your vents. Cover attic, soffit and crawl space vents with fine mesh (window screen weight) on the inside. Check that dryer vents have working flaps.
• Seal utility openings. Fill gaps around pipes, cables, outdoor faucets and AC lines with caulk, foam or copper mesh. It’s the same work that keeps rodents out, covered in our guide on how to get rid of mice in walls.
• Pull window AC units in early fall. The gaps around them are a favorite entry point. If you leave one in, seal around it tightly.
• Check the sunny sides. South- and west-facing walls get the most bugs, so inspect those first.
• Harvest and clean up the garden. Pick ripe fruit and vegetables promptly and clear heavily damaged plants, since stink bugs feed on them before moving indoors.

When to call a professional

Call a licensed pest control pro if you’re finding dozens of stink bugs a day despite sealing, if large numbers are coming from the attic or wall voids you can’t reach, or if the main gaps are high up on the roofline, chimney or soffits where a ladder job is unsafe. A pro can do exclusion work and, if needed, a properly timed exterior treatment in late summer. Also call if you find other pests, such as carpet beetles, cockroaches or rodents, while inspecting.

Frequently asked questions

What kills stink bugs instantly?

A container of water with a good squirt of dish soap is the simplest option. The soap breaks the water’s surface tension, so bugs sink and drown within a minute or two. It’s cheap, works on any bug you can reach and avoids the smell of crushing them. Indoor bug sprays also kill on contact, but extension experts don’t recommend them because they don’t reach the bugs hidden in walls.

Why do I have so many stink bugs this year?

Stink bug numbers swing a lot from year to year. A warm, long summer can produce more generations and bigger fall populations, and homes near farms, orchards, woods or gardens often see more. Unsealed gaps on the sunny sides of the house make the biggest difference. If numbers jump suddenly, look for a new opening such as a torn vent screen or a window AC unit.

Do stink bugs lay eggs in your house?

Not usually. The stink bugs that come indoors in fall are adults in diapause, a winter rest state, so they don’t mate or lay eggs inside. They lay eggs outdoors in spring and summer, on the underside of leaves. So the ones you find in winter and spring came in last fall. They’re trying to get back outside, not starting a new colony in your home.

Where do stink bugs hide in the house?

Mostly inside wall voids, attics, window and door frames, behind baseboards and under siding. They like tight, dark, protected spaces close to the sunny side of the house. On warm days, and when the heat comes on, some move toward light and show up on windows, lamps, curtains and ceilings. Sticky traps near windows help you see which rooms have the most activity.

Does killing a stink bug attract more?

Crushing one releases a strong odor, and some of the chemicals in it act as signals to other stink bugs. It’s not the main reason they gather, though. They cluster because they’re drawn to the same warm, sheltered spots on your house. Still, don’t squash them indoors: it smells, it can stain and the vacuum or soapy water methods are easier.

Next step: if you’re sealing gaps anyway, use the same work to keep rodents out with our complete guide on how to get rid of mice.