It’s right around this time of the year that I start seeing people mentioning a bunch of creepy looking brown bugs infesting their homes in Charlottesville.

Welcome… the Stink Bug!

Appearance

I always describe the stink bug as a little brown bug that looks prehistoric and/or armored and ready to go into battle. These guys are creepy. Every fall they descend upon Charlottesville, and are drawn into houses because of the temperature change between the indoors and outdoors.

Check out the Wikipedia article here.

What do they do?

Well, as best I can tell, they walk in circles and circles around the edge of the ceiling. They don’t seem to harm much. They don’t seem to have any interest in food or clothes, but just in being a nuisance.  They seem to sneak in through doors that are left cracked open, or small tears in window screens that they are able to weasel their way through!

How do you get rid of them?

Our experience has been that the only way to get rid of them is time! Usually after 2-3 weeks they completely disappear and stop haunting our house. In the mean time, you can shoo them out, and I have also heard of people vacuuming them up, but I am not endorsing that as my recommendation!

Do they stink?

I haven’t found them to be particularly bad.  I think if they are smashed they release a smell that is something like almonds, but I have yet to really experience this.

I’d love to get some feedback on this- has anyone had a less pleasant experience with them?