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Bugs in our house, please help!
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Posted by gonzyro 6 Philly (My Page) on Fri, Feb 23, 07 at 18:09
Hello, everyone! I'm not very sure if this is the right forum to try to find some help, but if anyone can comment or advice I'll be forever grateful. We just moved 7 months ago to our new house (which in fact is somewhat 20 years old). During the late summer (we live in Philadelphia) we started seeing stink bugs coming into the house and staying in the skylights. We didn't know where they were coming from or how to kill them, so we just would hit them and when they fell to the floor, we would pick them up with a napking and throw them away. We spent the summer kiling an average of 8 bugs daily. Oddly enough, they don't stink. When the cold weather started, we saw few of them, and one day we spotted one coming out of the fireplace. We tried to trace them, but couln't see anything, and waited for the winter to get a fire in the fireplace and kill whatever eggs or adults could be there. Last weekend we finally did it and we had a nice fire going on for a few hours. However, to our surprise, the bugs have started to come into the house again!! Most are like very stupid and slow, and I even find corpses here and there. Please, I need to know how can we kill these awful things, since, although they don't stink, I hate them, and I don't lilke to have bugs crawling around all the time in my house. Anybody has any idea? Why the fire didn't kill them? What can we do?
Thanks so much for any help!
Rocio |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Bugs in our house, please help!
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| What you have is not a "stink bug", but the Box Elder Bug, an insect that eats the pollen of Acer (maple) species trees and then finds some sheltered place (our houses) to spend the winter. The only means of control necessary is to seal up all points of entry on the outside of your house, and as my wife and I do, capture the wee buggers and either flush them away or squish them and toss them. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Box Elder Bugs
RE: Bugs in our house, please help!
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Thanks Kimmsr for your answer. However, the link you send me is not the bug that I find in my house. Here´s a link with a picture of them: http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=666
I guess I have to find any holes or points of entry....But...how is the fireplace on its top? I´m not sure because I´ve never seen it, but I guess it shouldn´t allow the entry of bugs.
THanks so much for your comments!
Rocio |
RE: Bugs in our house, please help!
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| Hmmm, I've not run across anyone having the real Stink Bugs in the house, Harlequin Bugs, Box Elder Bugs, Lady Bugs, bit normally these Stink Bugs winter over out in the fields, not inside our houses. But they still come in through the cracks and crevices we all have in our houses, though I doubt the fireplace chimney would be one. A place for squirrels, chipmonks, raccoons, skunks, etc. yes but usually not insects. |
RE: Bugs in our house, please help!
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| Brochymenas often come up in questions about home invaders, along with other stinkbugs. There are many avenues of entry, as I am sure you can imagine. When we first moved into this house, an assortment of unwanted visitors seemed to show up in the fall and winter. We did some simple things like installing a very tight storm door (no more ladybugs after that), and inspecting (and repairing) the chimney flashing and cap. No more centipedes after that. New weatherstripping on the entry door to the garage was added, too. End of spiders! If you have overhanging trees, you may want to have an arborist do a bit of trimming. Inspect all of your windows, recaulking if necessary. |
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