(WWJ) — It’s late October, which means it’s what some call “stink bug season.”
It’s not uncommon for Michiganders to find the little brown bugs — formally known as the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) — trying to invade our homes this time of year.
Dr. Nate Walton, a consumer horticulture professor at Michigan State University told WWJ Newsradio 950’s Luke Sloan we see them the most this time of year because they're trying to get inside for the winter.
“It has this overwintering behavior where it seeks shelter in the fall as the days start to get shorter and they tend to accumulate on the sides of structures that receive afternoon sun, so as the walls kind of warm in the afternoon sun in the fall,” Walton said.
Walton says it’s important to keep window screens and vents to the outside should be intact and fitting tightly in order to keep them out of your home.
While the bugs don’t bite humans or pets and don't reproduce inside, Walton says they have “a little bit of a defensive aroma” that can be annoying. He suggests vacuuming them up and putting them back outside.
"When handling the bug, the odor is transferred readily. It is best to avoid squishing them since high numbers of stink bugs can stain furniture through secretions. Any secretions on skin can be washed off. BMSB already inside a home can be swept, vacuumed or attracted, trapped and killed with a light trap," an article on the MSU Extension website says.
Stink bugs are not native to Michigan and can be harmful to the state’s fruit crops, especially apples, as well as some vegetables in gardens, according to Walton.
He recommends against using pesticides, as that could be harmful to other helpful insects and natural predators of the stink bug.
“They tend to be what we call a broad spectrum insecticide, so they kill a lot of insects, including our beneficials like pollinators and even things like spiders,” Walton said.
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