No, squashing stink bugs does not attract more. Stink bugs gather on your home because it is a good place to overwinter and they send pheromone signals to one another. Avoid squashing stink bugs, though: they smell terrible.
If you have ever crushed a stink bug, you know the smell. It’s somewhere between cilantro and burnt rubber. It’s easy to imagine it as being some kind of homing beacon sent out to all the other stink bugs in the neighborhood. But that’s not how it works. The smell is a defense that is deployed against predators. It’s more like an alarm than an invitation to other stink bugs.
Stink bugs do signal to one another, though. Brown marmorated stink bugs, the invasive species behind nearly all New Hampshire indoor sightings, use an aggregation pheromone, released deliberately by bugs that have found a good place to overwinter. Your home, particularly in late summer and fall, is a good place. They tend to mass on sun-warmed, light-colored walls and seek out cracks in siding so they can get into the walls for the winter. If they find gaps into your home, that’s what can cause indoor infestations.
All that said, don’t squash them. They smell awful!
If you want to keep stink bugs from taking over your home, you’ll need to block the entryways. You can do this by sealing gaps along window trim, siding seams, soffit and roofline openings, vents, and utility penetrations. Doing this in September prevents them from being a problem in January.
If you’re sick of the smell of stink bugs, Mosquito Squad of Southern New Hampshire can help. Mosquito Squad's home and yard coverage treats the perimeter where overwintering pests get in, helping protect your interior before the fall rush.
