Stink bug deterrent?

[Tinstaafl]

While prepping the camper for this weekend's outing, I found the LP air mixer sleeve for the water heater clogged up with a gazillion or so live stink bugs. Dug them out and had a good weekend with plenty of hot water.

Upon telling some friends about it, they said their RV dealer told them that placing a pet flea collar in the compartment during storage will keep that from happening--and that's been effective for them over the last two seasons.

Anyone heard of that, or another solution you swear by?

 

[JohnGB]

I know of the stink bugs in the LP gas burner on the water heater. Been there, unclogged that. It only take 3 of them to mess up the flame.

But I never heard of the pet flea collar. That's new.

The little buggers may also be regional. Southern Ohio in the more wooded areas can have zillions of them in the fall. I have seen that first hand. But here in central Ohio, there only seem to be a few and I have not had a camper here in this area with the issue. Yet anyway. Not sure of the reason, we are in a large agricultural area
(field grain crops) and that may have something to do with it. The camper I unclogged them from came from central NY.

 

[Tinstaafl]

They're regional to an extent, but that's mainly due to a slow spread from the point of origin in the US. Thought to have hitchhiked their way here from the Orient, they were first observed in Allentown PA in 1998. Experts predict they'll eventually be pretty much nationwide.

When they first appeared here in the Harrisburg area, they were so numerous in the winter months that it was more common than not to have one plop into your food while eating dinner. Fortunately, that's subsided, but they continue to be a significant annoyance.

 

[Wannabes-SUN]

Heard the flea collar trick but haven’t tried it b/c flea collars have gotten pricey. When we got our 2363, the PO had put small mothballs in empty round “chew” containers, put holes in the lids, and placed them in the water heater and refrigerator areas. That seems to work too. Here in central PA (an hour NW of Harrisburg) we get them in the house, even in winter; this winter we had more than usual for some reason.

 

[Tinstaafl]

Duh. I had heard about mothballs for spiders, but totally forgot about that when I parked the camper last fall. I'm a noob, still learning. Never heard they were also effective against stink bugs though.

Frankly, I'd consider a pricey flea collar worth the investment if it does any better than mothballs. Heck, I may go with both this fall. Critters are a PITA.

Makes sense you'd see more of them in the house over winter. As soon as the weather cools, they begin looking for sheltered places to hunker down in for the season. Normally they're pretty inactive during the cold months, but with the warmth in your home, they tend to keep on buzzin'.

Can you tell I've studied up on them? :grin:

 

[Torskdoc]

We've got the little Bast**d's year round just north of Baltimore. Kill one, 50 show up, protest and loot! IT's getting to be a Gulliver's travel fight!