I always fall for the bad boys — even the stinky ones. When I first spotted a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug clinging to our window screen, I thought I was looking at an alluring tiny dinosaur, armed with thick patterned plates (a heraldic shield shape) — it was their pattern and coloration that won my heart.
Stink bugs, Halyomorpha halys (like Boxelder bugs), belong to the order Hemiptera, or True bugs. True bugs can’t bite. Instead, their mouthpieces are of the piercing, sucking kind — the very inspiration for all those alien-like horror movies.
The Human Problem With Stink Bugs
Stink bugs arrived in the United States unintentionally and undetected from East Asia somewhere in the late 1990s. By 2010, Stink Bugs were showing up in Minnesota. I have only seen two in recent years.
Stink bugs get their namesake, you guessed it, from the foul smell the insect emits when it feels threatened or is crushed. Some say it smells like cilantro. Needless to say, their noxious smell keeps away any and all predators.
Without predators, they are free to eat anything they want, somewhere in the range of 300 plant species. What they really love to eat, though, are fruits and vegetables — which is why agricultural industries are up in arms against these hungry suckers. The insect’s taking of a fruit’s fluid leads to deformed seeds, and it’s a downward spiral from there — the potential spread of harmful plant pathogens and rot.
Our climate, especially the East Coast states, is ideal for Stink bugs to produce at least one successful generation and up to six generations in warmer states such as Louisiana and Georgia. As I write this, I’m wondering if unchecked populations of Stink bugs are causing the price of fruit and vegetables to rise. It hasn’t made the news, so I can only speculate.
A portrait of a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in archival ink, 11 x 14 inches on TwinRocker artisan paper.
A friend told me she liked the “Matrix” looking details of its wing tips. © 2026 Kristin Maija Peterson
Battling The Bad Boys
The good news is that while the agricultural effects of Stink bugs are alarming, their control is a priority of the United States Department of Agriculture! (At least it was. Who knows in this current administration). This government body developed an artificial phenomenon that can bait traps, an effective means but not the only one to control Stink bugs.
It’s still a tough battle. Stink bugs can fly. You get rid of an infestation of Stink bugs, and a new population can move right back in. Did I say no predators? As of 2012, native wasps and birds have taken to eating Stink bugs. Perhaps it was only a matter of time. I prefer biocontrol methods over insecticides to create balance in the nature of things.
Not All Stink Bugs are Invasive
If you look closely at a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, the alternating light and dark bands on its antennae and along the edge of its abdomen aren’t just a lovely pattern — they’re a field mark. That banding is one of the best ways to distinguish it from native stink bug species, several of which look similar at a glance but play very different roles in the ecosystem. Some native stink bugs are even considered beneficial, preying on other pest insects. Lumping them all together under “Kill It!” flattens that distinction — and honestly, it’s part of why I drew this one closely to show its banding.
Why is There a Stink Bug in My House?
Researching insects and their ecology can be disparaging. Inevitably, I will find a dozen websites all proposing ways to kill them. Search “stink bug in my house,” and you’ll get twelve websites in a row telling you how to seal your windows, mix vinegar traps, and eliminate the problem. Fair enough — nobody wants one crawling across the ceiling at 2:00 am. But almost none of them answer the question underneath the question: why is it actually here, and what is it doing? That’s where it gets interesting.
Stink Bugs Are Not Trying to Bother You
Stink Bugs don’t want to have anything to do with you. It’s simply seeking shelter. As temperatures drop in fall, it looks for a tight, protected space to spend the winter in a dormant state called diapause. Tree bark crevices are the Stink Bug’s natural choice. Your home’s siding, window frames, and attic gaps are, unfortunately, a very good substitute.
This behavior is called overwintering, and it’s not unique to stink bugs — lots of insects do it. The difference is that stink bugs do it in large, visible aggregations, and they do it indoors when given the chance, which is why one bug in October can mean a dozen behind your baseboards by January.
While they are harmless to humans, aside from their smell, Stink Bugs cannot reproduce indoors.
So What Do You Actually Do About Stink Bugs?
Pest-control advice isn’t wrong; it’s just incomplete. Bringing poisons into your home isn’t a healthy answer, either. Sealing entry points — gaps around windows, doors, utility lines, and attic vents — is genuinely the most effective long-term approach, because it addresses the shelter-seeking behavior rather than fighting the symptom of one bug at a time. Vacuuming up Stink bugs (instead of squishing them) avoids releasing the alarm pheromone that makes squishing them famously stinky. And in spring, they’ll leave the way they came, looking for the outdoors again on their own.
But the more interesting move, at least to me, is just noticing them. A creature that’s traveled this far, adapted this well, and shows up at the edges of our lawns and our windowsills is worth a second look.
A woman artist who is curious about bugs? What next?
The Benign Boxelder Bug: From childhood memories to the ugly cousin of the Maples, a story about the real purpose of Boxelder Bugs.
The Hide Beetle: This beetle cleans bones for museums and solves murders.
Ladies of State: Twelve stunning representatives of the 50 ladybug species that call Minnesota home. There’s folklore involved, too.
