For weeks, it's been a topic of discussion around the CBS 21 Newsroom.
"Where are all these stink bugs coming from?" one person would ask.
"I've got them all over my screen door!" another person would say.
And so, we finally decided to check with an expert.
According to Leo Donovall, an Entomologist with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculure, stink bugs are just looking to snuggle... er, get warm.
"Stink bugs will, this time of year, congregate in the warmest place they can find," Donovall tells CBS 21 News.
Native to Asia, the stink bug was first detected in Pennsylvania in 1998 in the Allentown area. Ever since, the plant and fruit-eating insect has been moving south.
CBS 21 News got video of the bugs en masse outside of a home in Fairview Township, York County, near Lewisberry.
According to Donovall, there hasn't been any explosion in the stink bug population. We're just noticing them more, as they do their best to get inside our toasty warm homes before Winter.
An adult stink bug poses no real danger to humans, but they will survive inside of a warm home until Spring.
If given free room and board, often times inside folding blinds, or in the cracks around your windows, the stink bug may occassionally try to eat your house plants, "As a source of water," explains Donovall.
If that's not reason enough to evict these pesky insects upon sight, Donovall explains the origin of this insect's catchy name.
"As a defense mechanism, the stink bug will emit a foul odor. It lets other insects, dogs, whatever it considers a threat, 'I don't smell very good. Don't eat me. Leave me alone," Donovall says.
He describes the odor as similar to "animal feces."
With most of Central Pennsylvania under a Frost Advisory into early Wednesday morning, stink bugs without a warm place to stay may already be struggling to survive by the time you read this article.
However, Donovall says it is in your best interest to rid your home of these insects, for the basic reason that they will attract other insects.
"If you do want to get rid of them, the best way is to kill them in some way, in some form. And then remove them from completely the home. Gathering them in a wad of paper, and then flushing them down the toilet would be a way," adds Donovall. "Sucking them up in a vacuum cleaner, and then throwing away the bag is another way to do it."
As a peventative measure for keeping stink bugs out of your home, it is recommended that you make sure your doors and widows are sealed. Also, check to make sure they are not entering your home through holes or openings where utilities are connected, such as exterior dryer vents and water spickets.
A stink bug can fit into a space about the same narrow width as a dime laid on its side.
