Stink Bugs

"Ontario, N.Y. - They’re back. Stink bugs are starting to show up in more and more homes.

Denorah Clocksin of Ontario says about 100 stink bugs took over her barn door and walls on a cool day earlier this week, while she was painting.

“They were buzzing around my head and freaking me out,” she said. “You don’t want these fat, bugs with lots of legs walking on your furniture, you know?”

"She’s lived at her Ontario home for three years. This is the first time she's seen the pests.

“They make this huge buzzing noise," she said, "and then they’re like coming right at you, and you’re like, ‘Oh no! Get away from me!’”

She’s not alone fighting them off.

Dale Larnder with Exodus Exterminator says stink bugs come out in droves early in the fall, looking for warmth.

This year, he’s says there’s already a 35 percent increase in calls to get rid of the bugs.

He says now is the time to check if they're in your home.

“Once they’re in, in the winter and we’ve got snow on the ground, what’s in is in,” said Larnder. “That’s when you can run into some real troubles; they show up in living space and then, what can you do?”

Clocksin tried to get rid of them with an insecticide.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to spray them to the ground,’ but nope," she said.

But Larnder says once the bugs show up, insecticide alone won't keep them at bay.

“Insecticides can help, but realistically they’re not going to eliminate the problem," said Larnder. "So you have to look at the home and make sure it’s weather-tight. And make sure there are no places that the stink bugs can enter in. Try to fix those areas.”

Now, Clocksin is on the lookout to seal up any spots they can sneak in.

“They’re a pain. They’re just a pain. And they come in groups!" she said. "It’s like, ‘Hey guys! Let’s go!’ They’re around that whole doorway, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh! Get them out!'”

Larnder says whatever you do, don't squish them. While they are not poisonous, they are an annoyance."