r/GoRVing • u/AbjectCuriosity • 1d ago

Stink bugs!

To help a family member out, we parked our camper in an in-laws backyard so someone can use it. They back up to a forest that is full of stink bugs. These things try to get in the camper anyway possible.

Has anyone come up with a viable method to repel them or keep them away?

14 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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5

u/Pinepark 1d ago

We traveled to Virginia to visit my daughter 2 weeks ago. Stayed in a beautiful mountain campground near Floyd. So many stink bugs!! Once we got home we kept finding them. I’m packing for our next trip and I’m still finding a few. They were just everywhere. So gross.

4

u/Questions_Remain 1d ago

There is basically no sure way. The good news is maybe. In general on an RV I’ve found spraying a heavy dose 2X in a week then every other month of the Home Defense bug spray around all doors and windows, saturate the ground around in a 1 ft wide perimeter, spraying tires, jacks, hoses, wires and anything that contacts the ground is a good preventative for all the crawling stuff and deters some flying stuff.

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2023/10/stink_bugs_expert.html

3

u/alinroc GD Imagine / Ram 2500 6.4L 1d ago

Take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

1

u/AbjectCuriosity 1d ago

🤣🤣🤣

3

u/Really_Elvis 1d ago

Spread Diatomaceous Earth all around the outside, especially around tires.
Hot Shot Bed Bug spray for inside. I live in the sticks. It rids ants, spiders, any kind of bug Ive encountered. I haven’t seen stink bugs but I’m confident if it kills bed bugs it’ll work. I discovered it’s multipurpose after ridding bed bugs from a bunkhouse. Non toxic to humans, no smell. 12 bucks a Home Depot. Good Luck !!

2

u/robogobo 1d ago

They can fly you know.

0

u/Really_Elvis 13h ago

Yes, they can land anywhere but my house.

1

u/Rxones 1d ago

Been using deepwoods off spray, they dont like it but it dont drop em. I keep a roll of tape handy to scoop em up,wrap em in tape and toss em in the trash. They get bad in the fall in nc,and I get to where I wont eat cilantro til April cause of the smell 😅

1

u/Stroker-Strong420 1d ago

Permethrin spray

1

u/Feisty-Increase-3707 20h ago

Test on inconspicuous areas of paint and fiberglass first.

1

u/hvyhitter 1d ago

you have gaps I was just camping in Seville Ohio and counted 12 on my northern side of the camper for 3/5 days . None were inside. So I wonder how yours are getting inside.

1

u/ktmfan 1d ago edited 1d ago

Skip the stuff from the box stores (like Ortho Home Defense) and don’t spray Off because it’ll interact with plastics and rubber leaving a sticky mess (and won’t actually kill anything).

I’d recommend a commercial product like FMC Transport GHP. I’ve switched from box store stuff to that because it works much longer. It has a dry component that lasts much longer. You can get a container that has 24 dissolvable pouches that makes 1 gallon per pouch.

It’s safe for inside and out. It’s broad spectrum. I’ve had luck getting rid of stink bugs, brown recluses, Asian lady beetles that try to overwinter in structures, scorpions, etc.

You won’t have to spray it nearly as often or as much at a time as a box store product. It’s a little more expensive… I’ve found it on scAmazon for about $125 per 24 gallon of pouch mixes. I live in the woods, and it’s the first product I’ve found to actually work and only require treatment every couple months.

I’d spray down the exterior, areas like tires and stabilizers ,underbelly, and the ground under and around the camper.

1

u/Gold-Comfortable-453 1d ago

Cover any vents with the little screen type cages and just put screening over and larger type vents - I just did this yesterday to keep the lady bugs out!

1

u/MakersMarkCask 1d ago

Had em bad last year. The chemical bifenthrin can help kill them outside. I don’t think you want those big bastards dying in the camper, we used a vacuum to get them out alive, then I’d kill them away from the camper.
Good luck, we were removing 2 a day for a few months.

1

u/EnjoyLifeOnTheRoad 1d ago

We had an infestation a couple of years ago. Winter didn't eliminate them (we're in New England). I lucked out when we came back from a trip in the summer and left the RV stored for a month or so at the storage place. To my surprise, when I checked on the RV, they were all dead. I was cleaning dead bugs on odd places for the next year, lol.

1

u/NotSoCasualObserver9 1d ago

This won't keep them out but it will make it easy to get them out. I have one in my house and one in my workshop and enjoy every opportunity I get to suck one up.

https://www.amazon.com/BugZooka-WB100-Bug-Catcher-Vacuum/dp/B004OHAK5K

2

u/swiftace111 1d ago

Living in NC my whole life, I can tell you there is no way to repel them. Try to avoid squishing them or making them release there stank. I try to flush them down the toilet if I spot one. This time of year is always the worst for them.

2

u/AbjectCuriosity 1d ago

We have one of those handheld vacuum cleaners to suck them up when they get in the camper and then we flush them

1

u/Feisty-Increase-3707 20h ago

Hit with Windex or dawn dishwashing liquid mix. It basically plugs their breathing openings and kills them without releasing any smell. Sweep or vacuum up.