The Cooking Staple That'll Help Keep Stink Bugs Out Of The House

What do you do when a stink bug gets into your house except frantically try to shoo it outside? You can't squash it, or it will leave an awful scent often equated to rotten eggs or rancid meat throughout the room. You could try to vacuum or sweep them up, but the threat of that nasty smell is also a possibility if the stink bug feels it's in danger. The best bet to get the upper hand on stink bugs is to simply keep them away in the first place. To do this, fresh garlic is your friend. Ironically, stink bugs don't like being assaulted with pungent aromas like garlic, which means you can mix together an effective DIY repellant using the garlic cloves already in your kitchen.

Garlic is known to repel lots of different insects and other pests. Aphids, beetles, and mites, among others, are all known to flee from the bulb's strong aroma. Because of this, there are numerous resources available for making deterrents out of different forms of garlic that can then be used around your home. But perhaps the most aromatic, and therefore the most effective, uses fresh garlic.

Stink bugs travel alone, so if you see one in your home, chances are it didn't bring any friends. So getting rid of that one and then discouraging the arrival of others may be enough to eradicate them from your home forever. Prevention really can be the key. First, of course, you'll have to make sure all potential points of entry are sealed, be they cracks in the foundation or small breaks in your window screens. Once that's done, though, keeping stink bugs away is as easy as placing strong, irritating odors around.

One of the most effective items for repelling stink bugs is garlic. The insects can't stand the scent, and this keeps them from coming anywhere near it. Just a few fresh cloves of garlic chopped or crushed and placed on your kitchen windows should be enough to keep these pests far away. Sure, your kitchen will smell like garlic, but humans tend to respond positively to that scent, whereas insects like the stink bug do not. Replenish the crushed cloves whenever their scent starts to wane, and your kitchen will smell amazing while your house will be free of stink bugs for the foreseeable future.