Do you remember stink bugs? They are easy to forget during the summer months; but you suffered terribly from them last winter when they invaded your Macon, Georgia, home and filled it with that noxious odor. If you really do not want to wait for them to drive you crazy again this year then now is the time to act. As you know, once they get in your home, there isn’t much you can do. Get ahead of your stink bug problem by acting now before it is too late!

The brown marmorated stink bugs will search for warm places in the fall that they can call home for the winter. Your home is the perfect place. They will get into homes and buildings through cracks and crevices as well as vents and soffits. What you need to do is seal off all of those points of entry.

So, where do you start to prevent stink bugs from entering your home?

A good place to start is in the attic because this is the most likely way these pests get in. Nylon mesh and filter material in attic vents gets old and worn without you knowing and creates a perfect entry point for these bugs. Experts say that even though it is more expensive, copper and stainless steel mesh is better for ridge vents, and aluminum soffit vents are a more permanent solution in preventing the entry of bugs.

Attics are not the only weaknesses that these bugs exploit to gain entry into your home, and there are practical solutions for you to implement such as:

• Fix or replace door and window frames with weather stripping or seals.
• Repair or replace screens in windows, doors, and vents.
• Remove air conditioners that are mounted in windows and fill gaps around windows with caulk or foam.
• Seal all spaces where wires and pipes go from the outside into your home
• Place cotton into spaces around windows that leak.

Stink bugs will gather on south sides of outside walls so take a good look at horizontal surfaces that meet vertical ones especially on your south side. The stink bugs crawl upward in the sun’s warmth until they reach a surface like a soffit or overhang and that is where they are most likely to gain entry to your home. While it is impossible to find every single crack in your exterior, filling as many as possible will help; and when you couple that with professional services that use small amounts of insecticides, you can be assured that stink bugs will think twice about making your home, their winter retreat.

Here at Active Pest Control, we have more than 4 decades of practical experience with local pest pressures. Our highly trained specialists can help you to keep stink bugs from choosing your home to winter in. We have the training, equipment, materials, and safety protocols to keep your home and your family safe from these nuisance pests. Give us a call or a click today to discuss the details and keep your home yours this winter.