Say Goodbye To Stink Bugs With A Natural Scent They Can't Stand

It is safe to say stink bugs are among the more despised pests found in homes and gardens. From a gardening standpoint, it's easy to understand: Stink bugs can wreak havoc on garden plants and crops. Despite the fact they don't bite or spread disease and are actually among insects that are safe to eat in an emergency, people don't want them around. In addition to destroying gardens, they can swarm in and on houses and sheds and, as the name implies, stink bugs have a habit of releasing a rather noxious odor. Surprisingly enough, one of the best ways to make sure they stay far away is to utilize a scent they can't stand — garlic.

As delicious as it tastes to us, the repellant qualities of garlic seem to know no bounds. People have long used garlic to repel a litany of pests ranging from aphids to rabbits. According to myths, even more serious pests, such as vampires, loathe garlic. And now you can add stink bugs to the list of uninvited visitors that will stay far away from the scent of garlic.

Simply planting garlic in your garden is not enough to keep stink bugs out, however. That is because the key to garlic's ability to repel stink bugs is the sulfurous compounds contained within each bulb. In order for these compounds — and their strong scents — to be released, the bulbs must be agitated or disturbed through cutting, peeling, grinding, or chewing. Do that, and you have a short-term odor emitter that stink bugs just don't like.

One of the best ways to utilize garlic to repel stink bugs is to create a garlic spray. A simple formula for that is 4 teaspoons of garlic powder mixed with 2 cups of water. Another method is to boil a handful of garlic cloves or crushed garlic in a couple cups of water, creating an infusion. Once the boiled brew cools, strain out the solids and pour the liquid in a sprayer bottle. Some recipes call for adding additional ingredients such as mint to enhance the repelling qualities of the spray or dish soap to help the spray adhere to plants.

Once the spray is ready, apply a fine mist near entry points to your house and on the leaves of both container and garden plants. While garlic spray is reported to be effective, it needs to be reapplied every few days while stink bugs are active. You can supplement the spray by sprinkling garlic powder on top of soil near plants that are susceptible to stink bugs. For instance, if you want to keep stink bugs away from your tomato plants, dust the dirt at the base of the plant with garlic powder every few days.

Another way to keep stink bugs away with garlic is simply by crushing garlic cloves and placing them throughout areas stink bugs may frequent. The crushed cloves are most effective when put near entry points, such as windows and doors. These cloves will need to be replaced as the scent fades in order to remain effective. This trick is much more affordable if you're already planting garlic in your garden to repel pests.