Are Stink Bugs Attracted to My Orchid Plants Indoors?

Don't Crush a Stinker

• Although brown marmorated stink bugs are typically seasonal pests, the ones that find their way into your home can be an issue year round. Stink bugs get their colorful name as a result of the odor they exude when disturbed. Besides their unwelcome aroma, they are disliked by gardeners and farmers for their appetite for juicy fruit. Even though the insects do not bite people or pets, they can cause a lot of damage to plants, including orchids and trees. Brown marmorated stink bugs have a lack of natural predators, and so killing them can prevent a large population of them in your area.

Protect Your Home in Winter

• In cold weather, brown marmorated stink bugs hibernate anywhere they can be protected from the elements, including attics, behind bookcases and under beds. Stink bugs do not cause property damage, but you may find them waddling around or feasting on your flowering plants, including your orchids. They enter through cracks along windows and doors. Discourage their entry by caulking or otherwise sealing those cracks and by ridding your home's perimeter of leaf litter and vegetation.

Watch for Them in Spring

• As the days get warmer and have more hours of light, brown marmorated stink bugs wake up from hibernation, eat and mate. Typically in March and April, they emerge and congregate. It is rare to find stink bug eggs on plants. If you find some, then remove them immediately into a plastic bag; close the bag, and dispose of it in the trash. Stink bugs probably will leave your house for the outdoors in search of more sunlight in springtime. Examine the bases of your plants indoors and outdoors in your garden for stink bugs, and immediately dispose of all stink bugs you find.

Kill Them Safely

• Chemical controls may not be effective against brown marmorated stink bugs because they hide from fumes and simply return when the air is clear. Because chemicals aren't very ineffective and are potentially harmful to you, your family and pets, it is safer and more effective to pluck the bugs off your orchids and other plants and dispose of them. A vacuum can be used to suck up and kill stink bugs, but the vacuum may take on the unpleasant odor of the dead bugs. Preventing brown marmorated stink bugs from getting in your home is the best approach. Ensure your home is sealed by placing screens over windows, doors and vents, and by sealing cracks.