Stink bugs INSIDE wood stove AND house??
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Simonkenton
Minister of Fire
I live in the NC mountains. Those GD stink bugs are a real plague around here. And, 20 years ago, you never saw one of them, must have been imported from Singapore, or Mars, or Hell, I don't know.
They get into my house somehow and it isn't the stove pipe. Got dozens, scores of 'em crawling out of the woodwork at this time of year. I am sick of the damn stink bugs.
They get into my house somehow and it isn't the stove pipe. Got dozens, scores of 'em crawling out of the woodwork at this time of year. I am sick of the damn stink bugs.
These insects come into the house if fall to hibernate. Almost all of them are physically harmless, they just give off a smelly chemical when they feel threatened. I haven't had them coming in through my chimney, but they'll gain access to indoors through any crevice they can find. They tend to crawl into crevices or cavities or cracks in anything: bark on trees, etc. The house is simply a great-big diameter tree. To them. Flies and other critters do the same thing. I even get a few solitary-wasp species and lace wings coming in sometimes. As others have said, you cannot really screen them out of a chimney, the screen must be too fine to prevent soot build-up.
Bugs are part of burning wood. You can't have screen that will keep them out of Chimney, soot would clog it up. You can have screen on OAK. You will be bringing them in with wood. I just throw them in the fire. They provide heat. When it gets cold enough they stay put under logs and stuff. We get Black Shield Bugs and Pine Beetles and Moths and Flys and Queen Wasps. All go into the Fire for additional heat. Never turn down Btu'S.
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
Stink bugs are OK.. they dont eat your food, just looking for a place to chill for 6 mo. We like stink bigs, my kids play with them, there ok to play with if your not rough with them. Id be worried if they were roaches.. REALLY worried...
They arent ok if you own an orchard. The invasive asiatic stink bug we are talking about can cause allot of damage to fruit.
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
Were talking about them in a house. Not an orchard. Every once in a while we fined them on the patio.. play and let them go.. i spray my foundation.. we dont see them in the house..
A few years ago I saw them in South Jersey, Cape May county. I understood each year they were moving further north. But I haven't seen them in North Jersey or North east PA yet.
Nick Mystic
Minister of Fire
And here is some more stink bug bad news: I read that each female will lay up to 400 eggs at a time! The article said that once you get some in your house they will basically be a staple from then on! We only started experiencei
So today I moved some of my stacked uncovered wood underneath to my woodshed and noticed a lot of stink bugs on the wood! Must be a plague going on!
Gpsfool
Member
We live between suburbs and country - corn or wheat all around. We get stink bugs and boxelder bugs in the fall. I use a CPAP machine, my mask covers nose only. I check my mask out every night. One night last spring I’m in bed and feel something on my nose, thought it was the mask, readjusted it and went back to falling asleep. Felt it again, ok this is weird, turned on the light and looked at my mask. There was a darn stink bug in ther - bugger was crawling around on my nose - YIKES! Must have crawled in there and down into the air hose during the day and the rushing air after I put it on at night caused it look for the exit.
Thankfully that bug did not release his stink.
Still gives me the willies when I think about it
Thankfully that bug did not release his stink.
Still gives me the willies when I think about it
PHEW!.. it brings me some relief to know that at least some complete strangers are experiencing this 'normal' phenomenon.
Until the weather gets colder, I may sleep with a 3M dust mask.. and ear plugs.. annnnd Raid.
Well, it depends on you you define "normal" They are an invasive species that did not exist in the northeast prior to ~10 years ago. But lots of things happening these days is not "normal" (like ticks surviving though increasingly mild winters)... or is that"new normal" ?
We get them as well. 2 different kinds. And they get in anywhere, though cracks far too small to find and seal. They even work there way in between the panes of our storm windows. Drives my wife nuts trying to get them all.
Woody5506
Minister of Fire
Spend money with a local exterminator who will guarantee their work and specifically ask about stinkbugs. I got my house sprayed for spiders a month ago because I was sick of vacuuming webs out of the room corners and floors every couple weeks. Whatever they sprayed they said will not only treat spiders but pretty much any other bugs including stink bugs. They only did the interior of my house, not exterior but they did recommend it. What I have found is that I have tons of stinkbugs outside now, but have yet to see one inside since the treatment. This is the first time I haven't had them come in. Whatever was sprayed did a great job and although it's not the cheapest work to have done, it's well worth it if you are really that fed up.
As far as them being in your stove, that really doesn't surprise me. They crawl into any tight area like that to stay protected. They will infest my grill outside, in the grates and any tight area of the grill. I Just do a little extra preheating before any cooking is all. They produce a nice crackle.
As far as them being in your stove, that really doesn't surprise me. They crawl into any tight area like that to stay protected. They will infest my grill outside, in the grates and any tight area of the grill. I Just do a little extra preheating before any cooking is all. They produce a nice crackle.
I would rather have the bugs than the chemicals to kill them.
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
If anyone is super bothered by the stinkbug or has an orchard in the living room.. spray the foundation of your home and all the critters that are looking for a place to hang out for the next 6mo will fined another place to overwinter, or die...
We started getting these too a few years ago. They get in, fly around and find a place to hibernate eventually but almost every night they keep the wife up thus keeping me up to dispose of the little pains flying around in the bedroom. This will be our second season with our stove and this year when I opened it up to sweep the chimney there were tons of them hanging out inside the stove. They came in from the chimney for sure. I vacuumed what I could up so I could sweep without them getting into the house. What was left got burnt to a crisp lol.
Long story longer I haven't used bug spray in years thinking I was just wasting my money but they were so bad this year I got some Bioadvanced ready to spray stuff for 10 bucks and it works. I have to blow the porch off there's so many of them dead. Some still made it in the house but I think the worst is behind us.
Long story longer I haven't used bug spray in years thinking I was just wasting my money but they were so bad this year I got some Bioadvanced ready to spray stuff for 10 bucks and it works. I have to blow the porch off there's so many of them dead. Some still made it in the house but I think the worst is behind us.
I have been laughing like crazy reading this. It makes stink bugs seem like the Black Plague. Ha! If anyone figures out how to keep them away, let me know. No spray or anything else has ever worked for us. We just deal with them until it gets cold. We flush them down the toilet alive. Then they don’t smell after a “squish”. Sometimes even touching them makes them smell. They also burn well in the insert; find the little things and just toss them in on the coals.
Technically... the black plague killed up 200 million people in Europe in 1351.
Considering the devastation stink bugs create on world economies, i bet long term stink bugs actually DO cause more damage than the plague. At least the plague died out.. stink bugs will be around forever.
..and i did invent a way to kill them. i just have to make some fine adjustments to the mini-laser gun.
I have to take the inducer blower apart in my 90+ furnace. Turned it on yesterday and it sounds like its grinding peanut shells inside. I know what it is. Ive been there before. They crawl in the PVC exhaust pipe and pack the inducer. I have also seen them in the sealed burner glowing red when I look through the sight glass. Just for kicks go up in an attic right about now. It will shock you.
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