Stink bugs behind the siding, or swarmers by the back door?

What should you do before a technician comes to a Prince George's County home?

Keep swarmers and bugs where they are, photograph them, and clear the wood and debris from the foundation. Do not treat the house yourself first.

Swarming termites are a sign that a colony is nearby, and the technician needs the wings and the mud tubes to tell what species it is. Spraying a household product on a swarm or sealing the hole first removes the evidence. Clearing firewood, mulch and leaf piles away from the foundation helps any treatment that follows, and it costs nothing.

• Photograph the evidence: swarmers, shed wings, mud tubes on the foundation, stink bugs on the window.
• Note the date: termite swarms come out after warm rain, and stink bugs gather in the fall.
• Clear firewood and mulch back from the foundation and the crawl space vent.
• Empty anything that holds rainwater in the yard, such as a bucket, a tarp or a plastic gutter extension.
• Tell us about children, pets and beehives so the placement and the products suit them.

Why do Upper Marlboro homes draw termites, stink bugs and mosquitoes?

Wood near the soil brings termites. Warm siding and attics bring stink bugs in the fall. Standing water in the yard, and the river and creek edges, bring mosquitoes in the warm months.

The eastern subterranean termite is the species reported for Maryland in the state's older agricultural accounts, and it nests in the soil and reaches the house through mud tubes. A swarm in spring is often how people first notice it. The Asian tiger mosquito is the state's biggest mosquito nuisance, according to the Maryland Department of Agriculture, and it breeds in anything that holds rainwater.

Brown marmorated stink bugs move into buildings in the fall. They gather under siding, behind shutters and in attics, and they do not bite. The usual fix is to caulk the cracks, weather-strip the doors and windows, and vacuum or release the insects outside.