Short answer: yes, a good light trap works. Here's what we tried over three fall seasons at our tiny house, and why we landed on the lamp and roasting pan trap.
The problem
Every fall, thousands of stink bugs descended on our shed. We're surrounded by soybean and corn fields and by maple, oak and black walnut trees, which is stink bug heaven. They'd gather on the north side, squeeze through cracks, then head for the bright, south-facing side of the house and end up everywhere.
What we tried
| Method | What happened |
|---|---|
| Soapy water traps | Worked, but left us with disgusting, wet, rotting stink bugs to clean up. |
| Repellent sprays | Helpful around entry points, but they don't deal with bugs already inside. |
| 24/7 electric bug zapper | Killed them, but roasted stink bugs smell way worse than stink bugs alone. |
| Plywood and 2x4 light trap with a pillowcase | Caught thousands over a couple of years, but more work to build. Details here. |
| Rice paper lamp over a roasting pan | Our favorite. Easy, runs day and night, and can sit for days without being touched. We've caught over 100 in a single night. |
Why the lamp trap won
We wanted something that worked night and day, and that we could leave alone for a few days or even a week. The lamp trap does that. The bugs end up in one pan instead of all over the house, and you only handle them once, when you empty it.
What a trap can't do
A trap only catches bugs that are already inside. If thousands are coming in every day, you also need to seal your house and treat the outside. We cover that in our three-step plan.
Ready to build one? Here's the step-by-step guide with video.