Steve, last season I used the surround powder late in the season for peppers, that is the reason that I don't know if it works. A lot of people said yes, somebody found it for very cheap in some supply place, but I was not paying attention and did not write down because I have a lot of the powder already. I also heard that some people used a hand held mini vacuum for the bugs. Other than that I don't think there is something to safely use in the home garden.

Peppers sprayed with surround

Silvia

I guess I don't see the logic in touching the bugs with alcohol. If you are going to do that why not just pick the bugs off and crunch them....or if that is too much you could just drop them in the cup of alcohol (or soap water). I guarantee you those methods will kill them.

I try not to spray if I don't have to but you can control the stink bugs with spray but the trick is to start early and spray weekly as the adults are tough but the nymphs are not and easily killed. Remove all weeds in and near the garden as it gives a spot for the bugs to hide and repopulate the garden. The adults keep flying in from the neighbors lands so the best you can hope for is to reduce the numbers.

They were horrible last year, I crunched thousands of them so lets hope this year they won't be as bad.

I hate really good luck last year using a normal soapy spray and then the next day dusting the plants with "self rising" flour. It seems that when the self rising flour gets into their mouth parts it begins to rise and swell and basically choke or starve the bug to death. Had a whole lot less damage than the prior year. That and Conserv Naturalyte pretty much solved any bug problems I have had.

I used hairspray (max hold) sprayed directly on some stink bug hatchlings and an adult. Within a minute or two the hatchlings were laying on their backs with their legs sticking straight up and the adult was motionless. I waited awhile and then sprayed down the plant with water to remove any excess hairspray ... a hibiscus plant in this case. Obviously this is not a perfect way to kill them but it sure smells great while doing in the little buggers. And my plant hasn't shown any harmful effects from the hairspray.

Smoothripple

That is funny and creative! Why I did not think of that.:)

Silvia

I got rid of my stink bug infestation.

Ok, this may sound too easy, but what I did took diligence and determination from summer to spring including the winter months (yes, I had active stink bugs in my house during the winter). I kept a regular bagged household vacuum sitting out for immediate use on every level of my home. I didn't store it away because I didn't want to make it inconvenient to vacuum up stink bugs.

I vacuumed up EVERY single stink bug I saw EVERYDAY. I would not let one stink bug go if I saw it. I put a long attachment on my vacuum hose so I could reach them. I vacuumed them up no matter if I was eating, watching TV, working at my desk etc. I sometimes vacuumed up more than 60 stink bugs a day. It was the most annoying task. However, as the months passed, I started to see less of them. Maybe 15 a day then 5 a day now NONE! By the beginning of this summer I have not seen any stink bugs in my home. I was not sure if this would work and I wondered how long I could keep vacuuming up stink bugs. I probably seemed a bit crazed vacuuming up every stink bug I saw, but it worked. I am telling you that I have not had one stink bug in my house since the spring time. I can also tell you that if I ever see one again I will SUCK them up with my vacuum. I will never let any of them live and chance another terrible infestation. It was like a Stephen King novel around here.

It was a pain in the neck vacuuming up all those stink bugs constantly but I never allowed myself to get lazy and let one of them live another minute once I saw them. Sometimes I had to wait for them to fly around fast before they got tired and landed.

From what I have read the stink bugs hibernate in our homes and secrete that stinky smell to alert other stink bugs as to where the happening place is. My theory is that I did not give the stink bugs in my home a chance to signal any other stink bugs.

These bugs left brown drips on my widow ledges and floors. Whenever I vacuumed them up, I would remind myself how they are supposed to be in China, not here, and what a dirty annoyance they are (like flying in my hair or crawling on my shoulders).

This may not be a solution for everyone, but if you are up for the challenge then get out your vacuums. Maybe you can make it a commitment within your family so that everyone vacuums up stinks bugs as a group effort.

A desperate measure yes, but I was a desperate homeowner.

There are beneficial flies that feast on stink bug larvae and eggs.
There are also several beneficial stink bugs that eat the harmful stink bugs.
Hand picking is still the most effective way to control these pests.
It can be hazardous to you and your plants to use products like hairspray off label.
That means that if the label does not say " use to control insect pests" then do not use it.
If hairspray were really that great for pest control, companies would have
long ago abandoned trying to get people to use their product for hair
and would have cashed in on the insecticide market.
No company is going to pass up the chance to make millions from gardeners!
Plenty of research has gone into investigating every home concoction to see if
it is marketable and a money maker.

This link has nice color photographs to help you identify each.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stink Bugs and Leaffooted Bugs

gatormom....call me. I have plants for you and your number is in my crashed computer.

I used hairspray (max hold) sprayed directly on some stink bug hatchlings and an adult. Within a minute or two the hatchlings were laying on their backs with their legs sticking straight up and the adult was motionless.

Hummmm, I used it too in my potato cannons but they are long gone now, my neighbors frowned greatly when we had parties and I brought out the potato cannons to launch taters down the lake...wonderful propellant but I don't think I'd want to eat anything from a plant sprayed with it ;-)