Stink Bugs

[tazman]

We purchased a 2012 Tiffin Coach in October of 2012 .The previous owner purchased it in May 2012. We bought it from a family in Charlottseville Va. Upon arriving home in Va Beach we noticed some insects that we were unfamiliar with both inside and outside the coach . They turned out to be the dreaded stink bugs . Winter was upon us the coach was winterized and put to bed for the winter .Now with the warming weather they are back .Have any of you out there experienced this adventure? If so do you have any methods of irradication you would share with us . Man what a bummer !!

[cc8375]

We picked them up on our visit there a few years back. We were killing several dozen a day. Best way to capture these prehistoric looking stinkers is a empty soda bottle with a lid. Fill about 2 oz. with dawn soap , put the bottle under them and they will fall right in. We also emptied the cabinets and spray well. bought spray from Do It Yourself Pest Control Products & Supplies | Do My Own Pest Control

Pull all linen, sheets ect. and washed. I am talking heavy duty cleaning and spraying. Then after you spray and you feel you got them, then you need to wipe down areas contaminated with spray.

Some folks have had luck with the light in a bottle trap .... I did not.
Build Your Own Stink Bug Trap - Active Excursions RL

Do NOT squish them, put them down the sink or in the toilet..... remove them from the coach. I also sprayed outside underneath my coach.

[MJFZ]

Originally Posted by tazman

We purchased a 2012 Tiffin Coach in October of 2012 .The previous owner purchased it in May 2012. We bought it from a family in Charlottseville Va. Upon arriving home in Va Beach we noticed some insects that we were unfamiliar with both inside and outside the coach . They turned out to be the dreaded stink bugs . Winter was upon us the coach was winterized and put to bed for the winter .Now with the warming weather they are back .Have any of you out there experienced this adventure? If so do you have any methods of irradication you would share with us . Man what a bummer !!

I am surprised you have not experienced Stink bugs in Virginia Beach. These imported pests are now throughout Virginia and most of the mid Atlantic after being first sighted in the early 1990's in Pennsylvania. They love warmth and in the fall will find their way into voids of your home and RV. They also like moisture, so hanging a damp towel up will attract them to the moisture, and then you can dispose of them. It has become an annual ritual for us in N. Virginia to attract and dispose of the little creatures. If you have not experienced them flying, you will discover they are noisy and happily fly into people or walls with a "thud".. So don't be alarmed if one flys about you as your driving. We now keep the fly swatter close by when on the road.

Mike

[Gary RVRoamer]

We picked up an infestation in Hershey, PA, last fall. They cut the adjacent corn fields while we were at the Thousand Trails outside of Hershey and the bugs flocked to the campground. Everybody ws overrun with then! We killed hundreds every day for weeks! Insect sprays with pyrethrin will kill them, and so will most roach sprays. You need to spray everywhere, in as well as behind cabinets, in storage bays, above the ceiling, and everywhere they can conceivably crawl (because they did crawl in there). Folded linens and hanging curtains are a favored hiding spot too.

After we got them down to dozens instead of hundreds, and parked the coach for the winter, we used insect "bombs" (room spray canisters) a couple times - the fog penetrates places that otherwise cannot be reached. I also think leaving the coach interior unheated through a couple hard freezes helped (it was winterized).

Now, 6 months later, we appear to be finally free of the critters. I still find carcasses everywhere when I moved stuff or pull things out of the back of cupboards, but I don't mind the dead uns.

[MSHappyCampers]

Just don't mash them suckers!

[luvmydolphin]

I have never even heard of those little critters. I suppose 8 months of winter and about 6 weeks of that being -40 gets rid of most insect type pests up here. If you can't rid of them you can park your rig in our driveway next winter. Just trying to look at a bright side of having a couple feet of snow still on the ground.

[beaverfever]

we never had a problem till last fall. this spring when i was spring cleaning the drip rails were full of them many still alive also the patio awning even though it is in a metal case they deep inside at least 3 full rolls in. my question is what can i put on awning this fall to stop them and not damage the material?

[Route 66]

There is no effective pesticide treatment or preventative treatment.

[Wayne M]

Somewhere on this forum I posted an insect bomb that had the right ingredients as stated by one of the Universities. A search should bring it up. The insect bomb can be purchased at any hardware store.

It did take about 6 bomb, 2 at a time in the MH to dwindle them down to a very manageable level. Several months later I would find one here-or-there playing dead-bug. I say playing, because a few i picked up with a tissue wiggled.

We literally vacuumed up thousands - not exaggerating.

Edited: Found it: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/new-...9029-2.html#26 and the ingredient is Cypermethrin

[cc8375]

Originally Posted by Route 66

There is no effective pesticide treatment or preventative treatment.
Attachment 36986

Had success with a product from these folks
Do It Yourself Pest Control Products & Supplies | Do My Own Pest Control

[Steve N Sal]

Our neighbors behind us here in FL had to use an insect bomb twice in their Zephyr to get rid of them. They vacuumed a floor full of them with the 1st application and about 1/2 as many the second time. They seemed to have cured the problem though. We had a slight problem with them last summer when the coach was in storage. They were all over the outside of the electrical compartment door. Never had them in the coach. I don't know what attracted them to just that area and I thought it was strange. The coach on the driver side of ours had nothing on it as well as the trailer on the other side of us. When we got ready to depart for winter to FL they were gone and we haven't had any sign of them since.

[ralphie]

Oh yes, indeed! We left Front Royal VA for FL in mid-January. Our home has previously been infested and we've discovered now they're in the FW and our tow vehicle. We've been in FL since and we still see some when it gets hot. Guess they come out of hibernation and go for the heat, usually on windows. Fortunately, they are more of an annoyance rather than dangerous. At home I suck them up in the central vacuum that's exhausted to the outside and we don't smell them. Otherwise, I'll catch them and squish them outside to minimize the smell.

[Wayne M]

Just keep a coffee can of soapy water and when you collect them put them in the can and put the little plastic lid on. They will dissolve. Their exoskeleton is very susceptible to soapy water. Once down to a manageable level, they can be picked up with a tissue paper without crushing them, and placed in the can or in the toilet. Once they have nested they will continue to come back to the same area as that is where "their" smell is.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by ralphie

Oh yes, indeed! We left Front Royal VA for FL in mid-January. Our home has previously been infested and we've discovered now they're in the FW and our tow vehicle. We've been in FL since and we still see some when it gets hot. Guess they come out of hibernation and go for the heat, usually on windows. Fortunately, they are more of an annoyance rather than dangerous. At home I suck them up in the central vacuum that's exhausted to the outside and we don't smell them. Otherwise, I'll catch them and squish them outside to minimize the smell.

Ralphie, you might want to check further on that central vac. I owned a company for 36 years before retiring and central vacs was one of the products we sold and installed. All I have ever seen or heard of have a filter of some type in the main canister that prevents anything but air from being exhausted to the outside. On the ones we sold there was a canister on the bottom of the power unit that caught all the solid stuff and needed to be emptied from time to time. The air then was exhausted through a filter to the outside. The cloth filter could be cleaned while the canister was off. If you haven't been emptying the canister and cleaning or replacing the filter you may be losing a lot of suction in your system.