With no natural predators craving its distinctly disagreeable taste and odor, the marmorated stink bug can now be found all over the U.S., marching like obedient soldiers into millions of commercial, educational and hospitality facilities where there is warmth, food and plenty of hiding spaces. Stink bugs are easily recognizable by their mottled brown color and shield-shaped bodies. Although they don’t bite, stink bugs secrete an odorous chemical. leave droppings everywhere and cause extensive agricultural damage every year.

Staying One Step Ahead of the Impending Stink Bug Invasion

Since stink bugs are less than an inch long and have flattened bodies, they’re able to squeeze under and through just about any size opening. To keep the huge populations of stink bugs from infesting their buildings, facility managers need to perform exhaustive inspections of the interior and exterior of the building to discover and eliminate access points with silicone-latex caulking.

Stink bugs are smart enough to know that where there are lights, there is warmth. Consequently, Pestworld recommends facility managers minimize the number of outdoor lighting devices they have or switch to using yellow bulbs in these devices so that they are less attractive to stinkbugs.

While preventive measures like these may help reduce the severity of a stinkbug infestation, one precautionary action in particular will make a facility manager’s life less stressful in the fall and winter–and the stinkbug’s life more

Pretreating for Stinkbugs Before Cold Weather

Commercial establishments should be pre-treated for stinkbugs by a professional pest management company like Assured Environments before the cold weather hits. As soon stinkbugs feel the slightest change in temperatures, they know winter is just around the corner and start trekking en masse to large, warm buildings packed with all the hiding places they need to wait out the winter in comfort.

If you don’t want to share your facility with stinkbugs and their smell this fall and winter, start putting up “no vacancy” signs in your building by having it pre-treated safely and effectively by specialists in commercial pest control

If you suspect an infestation has already developed, contact a pest professional to evaluate and assess the severity of the problem.