How to kill stink bugs in homes that have window air conditioners
Stinkbugs are notorious for their tenacity when it comes to seeking access to your house during the fall months.
1. Skunks want to come into the house in the winter.
Have you noticed that the peak season for stink bug infestation problems in North American households is in the early fall? This is not mere coincidence or coincidence. Stink bugs are no different than any other insect or animal that instinctively seeks to escape the harshness of winter either by hibernating or migrating south. What makes stink bugs stand out from other insects is their tenacity when it comes to seeking shelter in warm places during fall and winter. While it’s very rare to find bugs lurking around your house during the winter months, stink bugs are a notable exception.
2. They will look for any means to get into the house.
If a skunk cannot seek shelter in a warm home during the winter months, it will inevitably hibernate. But during the fall months of September and October, you’ll find that these little critters are among the most persistent when it comes to trying to get inside your home for the winter. Wherever they find any kind of opening in your house, they’ll somehow manage to make their way indoors where it’s warm. This opening could be a crack in the foundation of your house, your clothes dryer exhaust vents, your stove exhaust, your chimney, gaps in your window sills, tears in your window screens, or any other crack they can find . Suffice to say, if there’s a way to get into your home, a determined skunk will find a way. This is their mission in life during the autumn months.
3. The window air conditioner is one of the most vulnerable parts of the home.
Among the many different ways that stink bugs can gain access to your home, the window air conditioner is one of the most vulnerable. After all, it is an actual opening to your home. Designed to draw air into your home from the outside, it’s an open invitation for those bugs to crawl right in. Of course, this is a common problem with any vent in your home, whether it’s a central air conditioning unit or any other exhaust pipe leading out of your house. Stink bugs can make their way through them as well. The main difference is that the distance between the outside world and the inside of your house is very small, and it is a relatively short distance for the stink bug to travel before it finally makes its way into your home. If you don’t take the necessary precautions and precautions to seal your window air conditioner and make it completely airtight and impervious except for the flow of air molecules themselves, then this unit becomes an open invitation for stink bugs to make their way into your home.
4. Problems with window air conditioners.
Since air conditioning units are units that fit into a hole cut out of your wall, you need to be aware of the fact that even the smallest gaps between the unit and the wall can be large enough for stink bugs to sneak in. And believe it or not, stink bugs can and will find a way to get through this device once they can detect the presence of heat emanating from this device. Stink bugs are notorious for infiltrating homes and making their way inside, and they are just as notorious for being tenacious in doing so.
5. How to protect your window air conditioners.
While most professionally installed air conditioning units are designed to fit right into the opening in your exterior wall, it’s inevitable that you’ll sometimes end up with a unit that doesn’t fit perfectly, even by a few millimeters. This applies to new installations and replacements as well as existing modules that have been in your window for a long time. Here are some tips on how you can protect your window air conditioners to prevent stink bugs from making their way into your home:
i) Use tape.
Duct tape is an extremely effective way to seal any gaps between the window and the wall. Provides a solid, impenetrable barrier. It’s also adhesive so it’s very unlikely to come undone, plus it can trap any stinkers that come into contact with the adhesive surfaces, thwarting their attempts to enter your home.
ii) Spray the window with dish soap.
This may sound like a strange solution, but the fact is that liquid dishwashing soap has been proven to be deadly to stink bugs and acts as an excellent deterrent against them. Spraying the outside of your window with dish soap should be enough to repel them. Of course, if it’s not practical to spray the window with dish soap yourself, then you may want to have your window (as well as the rest of the house) professionally washed.
iii) Tape the window.
If you have any gaps in the window sill or in the areas between where your window meets the window frame, you may want to fill them with caulk. Once the sealant dries, it will form a solid, waterproof, impermeable barrier that stink bugs won’t be able to get through. Also, if any stinkers have managed to enter your home through these cracks and are hiding in the walls, then this will take care of them. By sealing the openings with caulk, this will trap, suffocate, and kill any stink bugs that may be hiding in your walls so they can’t come back and lurk in your house.
6. Cover your air conditioner.
One thing you can do is wrap your air conditioner permanently with a cover that has gaps that are too narrow for insects to pass through but large enough for air molecules to pass through. This case would be somewhat similar to a cell.
Another way to cover your air conditioner is to completely cover it when not in use, especially during the winter months.
Completely removing the window air conditioning units during the winter months is also an option, provided you are able to completely close the wall gap, seal the edges and make sure it is airtight.
Having a window air conditioner is a necessity during the summer months, in houses that do not have central air conditioning. Unfortunately, the luxury and comfort of having an air conditioner comes at a price… the trade-off is the amount of effort you have to put in to make sure your unit doesn’t leave your home vulnerable to an infestation of stink bugs.
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