Sasha CampbellSome stink bugs pierce plants and suck out the juices. They can damage tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn, and fruit. Their feeding may leave pale spots or make fruit grow out of shape.
Other stink bugs eat garden pests, such as caterpillars. You do not need to remove every stink bug you see. First, identify the bug and look for plant damage.
If you are looking for home remedies for stink bugs, start with simple steps. Check for eggs, remove harmful bugs, and protect your plants before they cause more damage.
How to Identify Stink Bugs
Adult stink bugs have broad, shield-shaped bodies. They may be green, brown, or gray, depending on the kind. Many common garden stink bugs are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long.
Young stink bugs are smaller than adults and lack full wings. Adult females lay eggs in groups, often on the undersides of leaves.
Stink bugs get their name from the strong smell they give off when disturbed. Color and shape alone may not tell you whether a bug is harmful or helpful. Compare it with clear photos from a trusted insect guide before removing it [1].
How to Get Rid of Stink Bugs Naturally
These steps can help you find harmful stink bugs early and protect your crops.
Start with simple methods, such as removing eggs and bugs. Try other steps if you keep finding pests or see new damage.
1. Check Your Plants Often
Look over your plants once or twice a week. Check leaves, stems, flowers, and fruit. Turn leaves over to look for eggs and young bugs.
Stink bugs may hide or drop when disturbed, so look closely. Check more often if you have already found them. Finding bugs early makes it easier to keep their numbers down [1].
2. Remove Egg Clusters
If you find eggs from a plant-eating stink bug, remove them before they hatch. You can crush the eggs or remove the small part of the leaf that holds them.
Only remove eggs when you are sure what they are. Helpful stink bugs also lay eggs in groups on leaves. If you are unsure, ask your local garden extension office for help [2].
3. Pick Off or Knock Down the Bugs
Pick harmful stink bugs off your plants and drop them into a container of soapy water. Wear gloves to help keep their smell off your hands.
You can also hold the container under a leaf and gently tap the plant. Stink bugs often drop when disturbed.
For readers asking how to “kill stink bugs naturally,” a container of soapy water offers a simple way to collect and kill harmful bugs. Keep the water in the container. Do not pour it over your plants.
Check again over the next few days because more bugs may fly in [1].
4. Use Row Covers Early
A floating row cover can help keep stink bugs off a crop. Put it on before the bugs arrive, and fasten the edges so they cannot crawl underneath.
Check the plants before covering them. You do not want to trap pests inside.
If the crop needs bees or other insects to pollinate its flowers, remove the cover when it starts to bloom. Keep checking for stink bugs after taking it off [1].
5. Try Kaolin Clay
Kaolin clay forms a thin white coat on plants. It may help reduce stink bug feeding and damage. It protects the plants rather than killing the bugs.
Choose a kaolin clay product made for use on crops. Make sure its label allows use on your crop, and follow the mixing and spraying directions.
You may need to spray again after rain or as plants grow new leaves. Follow the label to keep the coating in place.
6. Use Insecticidal Soap on Young Bugs
An insecticidal soap may help when sprayed directly on young stink bugs. It is much less useful against adults.
Choose a product whose label allows use on your crop and lists stink bugs. Follow all directions, including any limits on spraying in hot weather.
Do not use homemade dish soap or vinegar sprays instead. They may harm leaves. Use insecticidal soap only where needed, and avoid spraying helpful insects [1].
7. Consider a Labeled Neem Product
Some neem products may help control young stink bugs. They are less likely to work on adults, so do not rely on neem alone.
Choose a product whose label allows use on your crop and lists stink bugs. Neem products can have different ingredients, so their directions may differ.
Follow all label directions. Avoid spraying open flowers or bees, and keep removing the harmful bugs you find [1].
8. Protect Helpful Insects
Some insects feed on stink bugs or their eggs. These include insects that eat pests and tiny wasps that attack stink bug eggs.
Flowers can provide food for some of these garden helpers. Avoid spraying the whole garden when you find only a few pests. Remove the harmful bugs you can see first.
Helpful insects may reduce pest numbers, but they may not stop a large stink bug problem on their own.
9. Clean Up Old Crop Plants
After harvest, remove dead crop plants and old crop debris.
Some stink bugs spend the winter in sheltered places, including garden debris. Cleaning up affected beds may leave fewer places for them to hide.
You do not need to clear every leaf from the whole garden. Helpful insects also use sheltered places.
Keep checking living plants during the growing season. Cleanup will not stop stink bugs from flying in from nearby areas [1].
10. Check Thick Mulch Near Affected Plants
Thick organic mulch can give stink bugs places to hide. If you keep finding harmful bugs around a crop, check the mulch near the plants.
If it is very thick, consider thinning it near affected plants. You can still leave some mulch to help hold moisture and limit weeds.
Keep checking your plants after thinning the mulch. This step may reduce hiding places, but it will not solve a large pest problem on its own.
Does Anything Kill Stink Bugs Instantly?
You may see the phrase “kills stink bug instantly” in tips about home remedies. Treat this claim with care. The methods above do not promise an instant kill.
Collecting bugs in soapy water is a useful way to remove them. Row covers and kaolin clay help protect plants. Soap and neem sprays may help with young bugs, but adults are harder to control [1].
What About Stink Bugs in the House?
Some stink bugs, especially brown marmorated stink bugs, enter homes as the weather cools. Check window screens and seal gaps around doors, windows, pipes, and cables.
If you find bugs indoors, gently collect them and drop them into soapy water. Avoid crushing them because this can release their smell.
A vacuum can also pick them up, but the smell may stay inside it. If you use a shop vacuum, empty the collected bugs into soapy water outdoors. Follow the vacuum’s directions when emptying and cleaning it [3].
Takeaway
To control stink bugs naturally, first make sure they are the kind that damage plants. Check your crops often, remove harmful bugs and their eggs, and protect helpful insects.
Row covers and kaolin clay may help protect crops. Labeled soap or neem products may help with young bugs, but adults are harder to control.
If you see bugs on squash or pumpkins, identify them before treating. Squash bugs are common on these plants. Stink bugs may visit squash plants, too. Check what the bug looks like before choosing a treatment.
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