PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — They’re baaaack.

We’re talking stink bugs with their piercing-mouth parts creeping, crawling and winging their way into our homes to hibernate for the winter.

“When the days’ lengths get shorter as it is now, the nights get cool, they start looking for a place to spend the winter,” says the Allegheny County Health Department’s Bill Todaro.

The current home invasion features both dark and light colored stink bugs. The darker coloration indicates immature nymphs.

While they’d prefer a hollow tree or cave for the cold weather months, squeezing their way into our houses through any possible opening is the next best thing.

“So the nuisance is going to start over the next couple of weeks,” Todaro said.

Your first defense is caulking and sealing all those potential entries to keep them out.

“There are some pesticides in the hardware store that are defensive.”

Check product labels for active ingredients ending in the letters “T-H-R-I-N.”

And according to Doug Satterfield, “Deltamethrin is the most advanced, longest lasting, residual type product.”

Stink bug traps are only marginally effective at this time of year, but spraying outside around your windows, doors and screens should keep stink bugs at bay.

Last year stink bugs caught us by surprise, but not anymore.

“People are just fed up with them and they’re ready to battle back!” Satterfield said.

The best advice is to be pro-active. If you wait until mid-September, they will have already moved in.

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Allegheny County Health Department
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