Stink bugs swarming Michiana

NILES TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Is the unusually warm fall weather we’re having keeping swarms of stink bugs out and about in Michiana? We spoke with an expert to find out.

Bob Leinonen, known as ‘Bob the Bug Guy,’ has been in the extermination business in the Niles area since the late 1980s.

He said the warmer temperatures we’ve been seeing are essentially delaying hibernation for the stink bugs.

You’ve likely found a stink bug crawling on your house or your car in the last few days.

Leinonen said it’s because the bugs are soaking up the sun like we are before they search for a warm, dry spot for winter.

“If [people] don’t want to go a chemical route or to call me, the best thing you can do is check your windows, check your doors, the seals, the screens, anything that can be sealed up; anything that has a hole in ‘em; make sure you caulk it up, you fill it up,” he said. “And that’s about all you can do, other than go the chemical route.”

Leinonen said stink bugs are not poisonous and they don’t bite, so they won’t do anything more than bother you.

But he did warn that if you go to squash one, do not use your bare hand. Leinonen said the inside of a stink bug is toxic and it could cause your skin to react.

If you’re intrigued by the bugs and where you’re finding them, you can actually help a team out from Michigan State University.

The Midwest Invasive Species Information Network is collecting data on where stink bugs are found throughout southwest Michigan.

You can learn more by clicking here.