If you've lived in Hampton Roads for more than a fall or two, you already know the feeling: one day there are a few stink bugs on the window screen, and two weeks later they're clustered on the siding by the dozens, working their way toward every gap they can find. This isn't random — it's a predictable seasonal pattern, and it starts earlier than most homeowners expect.
Why stink bugs show up when they do
The brown marmorated stink bug — the species behind most Virginia home invasions — doesn't survive winter outdoors. As temperatures drop in fall, they go looking for a sheltered spot to overwinter, and a house is exactly what they're built to find: warm, dry, and full of small gaps. In Virginia, that migration indoors typically ramps up starting in mid-September and continues through October as nighttime temperatures fall.
Once they're in, they don't reproduce indoors and they don't bite — but they do show up in large numbers, release an unpleasant odor when disturbed or crushed, and tend to reappear on warm winter days when they wake up from indoor dormancy looking for a way back outside.
Where they get in
Stink bugs are flat and can squeeze through gaps that look far too small to matter. The most common entry points in Hampton Roads homes:
- Gaps around window and door frames, especially older wood-frame construction
- Unsealed utility penetrations — where cable, gas, or plumbing lines enter the house
- Damaged or missing screens on attic and soffit vents
- Gaps under siding, especially where it meets the foundation
- Chimneys without a properly fitted cap
What actually works
Sprays and traps address the stink bugs already inside, but they don't stop next week's wave from getting in through the same gaps. The more effective approach is the same one that works for most fall invaders: seal the entry points, then treat the perimeter before the migration peaks.
- Inspect and seal around windows, doors, and utility penetrations with caulk or weatherstripping
- Repair or replace damaged screens on vents, particularly attic and soffit vents
- Exterior perimeter treatment timed before the fall migration ramps up, not after
- Address existing gaps in siding, trim, and foundation lines — the same work that also helps keep out rodents and other fall invaders
This is the same reasoning behind why we treat exclusion and general pest control as connected services rather than separate problems — the gaps that let in stink bugs are often the same ones letting in mice a few weeks later.
Every corner of the 757
If you're in Hampton Roads, we can be at your front door this week.