Gardens Alive! & Supplies
Trapping Stink Bugs by the Box
Q. Ellen "from middle Tennessee", writes: "Seems to me, I heard Mike mention on the radio that I could trap stink bugs using an empty pizza box, but I can't find anything about this online or at my local extension office at the University of Tennessee. Did I really hear Mike mention this? I've been saving my pizza boxes all summer, intending to use them to trap stink bugs. But now I can't find the article anywhere.
Maybe I'm nuts! But I'd appreciate any advice you can give me, because the stink bugs are here once again."
A. Flashback time! I did advise this trick for many years, but it seems to have leaked out of my brain quite a while ago--as the Internet informs me that I first wrote about it some 13 years ago. I know that I talked about it on You Bet Your Garden back then and also interviewed the inventor on the air.
But that's not where the idea became popularized. At the time, I was also providing gardening advice every weekend on WTOP, an all-news format station based in Washington DC. Their Internet archives are where I just found my original article. The headline back then was "Now is the time to keep stink bugs out of your house". And I quote myself:
"Now that nasty stink bugs are getting bored with violating our late season tomatoes, the stinkers are looking for ways to get into our houses to hibernate for the winter. But Jody Williams, an amateur inventor from New Jersey, has created a simple way to intercept them.
Jody's trap is simplicity itself. He starts with two thick pieces of cardboard, each about the size of an extra-large pizza box, to which he staples three long strips of wood, each about five sixteenths of an inch wide. This creates the exact kind of space that stink bugs seem to prefer crawling into in the Fall.
Stink Bug Background: The stink bugs that suddenly appear inside your home in the spring aren't making their way indoors at that time--they've been living with you all winter. In their native Asia, the invasive marmorated stink bug hibernates in caves, and to them, your home is a nice big warm cave.
Back to Jody's trap: He staples the three strips of wood lengthwise to the inside of one piece of cardboard, one strip down the center and the other two several inches from each edge. Then he staples the other piece of cardboard overtop and hangs it on the outside of his house. Ideal placement is on the South-facing side of your home, where most of the stinkers will be gathering. Stink bugs always congregate on the warmest side of a home, and they prefer homes with light-colored siding, which warms up the most during the day. And with the box open at the top and bottom, it's easy for them to crawl inside.
The stinkers enter these openings by the hundreds and then stay inside. You simply empty your catch into a plastic trash bag on a regular basis and then let the sealed bag sit out in the sun before disposal. A single trap can capture thousands of these home invading pests every year, making Jody from Jersey a true stink bug savior!
Oh, and I call it 'the pizza box trap' because I simply drill holes along all the sides of an actual pizza box, which works extremely well. Maybe decorate the box side that's facing out with something like "Stink Bugs! Enter Here!" or "Death Awaits Inside!" Martha Stewart would be so impressed.
Then double down on stink bugs with indoor traps
If you really want to up the odds of enjoying a stinker-free winter, use indoor traps as well. Just hang a light trap in rooms where the stinkers typically congregate.
You'll find these indoor traps for sale in lots of grocery stores and home centers at this time of year--but be careful what you buy. So-called ultrasonic traps simply don't work. You want the kind that emits a purple light that lures the bugs to the sticky paper inside. Just check it every couple of weeks and replace the sticky paper when necessary.
Place it in the attic or whatever room you see them congregate during the winter, and turn off any other lights in that room. In the morning, any stinkers that made it inside will be trapped in the trap.
Although any kind of light will probably do (provided it's the only light source in the room), researchers trapping stinkbugs in the field report that a blacklight seems to be the most effective lure. And timing perfection; you should be able to find blacklights that screw into ordinary fixtures in one of those pop-up Halloween stores (probably at half price by now!) or in a home store's 'party light' section. You can have a 60s flashback party and lure stinkbugs to their doom, all in one night! Please, no disco balls.
You could also try the flea traps I always recommend for home infestations. A small light suspended above a sheet of sticky paper (or a small bucket of soapy water) positioned in an otherwise dark room should work well. These flea traps are easy to make, and there are several pre-made brands available.
Maybe I'm nuts! But I'd appreciate any advice you can give me, because the stink bugs are here once again."
A. Flashback time! I did advise this trick for many years, but it seems to have leaked out of my brain quite a while ago--as the Internet informs me that I first wrote about it some 13 years ago. I know that I talked about it on You Bet Your Garden back then and also interviewed the inventor on the air.
But that's not where the idea became popularized. At the time, I was also providing gardening advice every weekend on WTOP, an all-news format station based in Washington DC. Their Internet archives are where I just found my original article. The headline back then was "Now is the time to keep stink bugs out of your house". And I quote myself:
"Now that nasty stink bugs are getting bored with violating our late season tomatoes, the stinkers are looking for ways to get into our houses to hibernate for the winter. But Jody Williams, an amateur inventor from New Jersey, has created a simple way to intercept them.
Jody's trap is simplicity itself. He starts with two thick pieces of cardboard, each about the size of an extra-large pizza box, to which he staples three long strips of wood, each about five sixteenths of an inch wide. This creates the exact kind of space that stink bugs seem to prefer crawling into in the Fall.
Stink Bug Background: The stink bugs that suddenly appear inside your home in the spring aren't making their way indoors at that time--they've been living with you all winter. In their native Asia, the invasive marmorated stink bug hibernates in caves, and to them, your home is a nice big warm cave.
Back to Jody's trap: He staples the three strips of wood lengthwise to the inside of one piece of cardboard, one strip down the center and the other two several inches from each edge. Then he staples the other piece of cardboard overtop and hangs it on the outside of his house. Ideal placement is on the South-facing side of your home, where most of the stinkers will be gathering. Stink bugs always congregate on the warmest side of a home, and they prefer homes with light-colored siding, which warms up the most during the day. And with the box open at the top and bottom, it's easy for them to crawl inside.
The stinkers enter these openings by the hundreds and then stay inside. You simply empty your catch into a plastic trash bag on a regular basis and then let the sealed bag sit out in the sun before disposal. A single trap can capture thousands of these home invading pests every year, making Jody from Jersey a true stink bug savior!
Oh, and I call it 'the pizza box trap' because I simply drill holes along all the sides of an actual pizza box, which works extremely well. Maybe decorate the box side that's facing out with something like "Stink Bugs! Enter Here!" or "Death Awaits Inside!" Martha Stewart would be so impressed.
Then double down on stink bugs with indoor traps
If you really want to up the odds of enjoying a stinker-free winter, use indoor traps as well. Just hang a light trap in rooms where the stinkers typically congregate.
You'll find these indoor traps for sale in lots of grocery stores and home centers at this time of year--but be careful what you buy. So-called ultrasonic traps simply don't work. You want the kind that emits a purple light that lures the bugs to the sticky paper inside. Just check it every couple of weeks and replace the sticky paper when necessary.
Place it in the attic or whatever room you see them congregate during the winter, and turn off any other lights in that room. In the morning, any stinkers that made it inside will be trapped in the trap.
Although any kind of light will probably do (provided it's the only light source in the room), researchers trapping stinkbugs in the field report that a blacklight seems to be the most effective lure. And timing perfection; you should be able to find blacklights that screw into ordinary fixtures in one of those pop-up Halloween stores (probably at half price by now!) or in a home store's 'party light' section. You can have a 60s flashback party and lure stinkbugs to their doom, all in one night! Please, no disco balls.
You could also try the flea traps I always recommend for home infestations. A small light suspended above a sheet of sticky paper (or a small bucket of soapy water) positioned in an otherwise dark room should work well. These flea traps are easy to make, and there are several pre-made brands available.
