Stink bugs!!!

I  grew up in an area where stink bugs were black and were identified by their distinctive walk . . they always had their butts up in the air.  After spending some quality time on Google images, I’m realizing that those weren’t stink bugs after all, although they definitely emitted a stink once they got smashed!

I now live in an area that is being infested by brown marmorated stink bugs. As I type,the back porch is crawling with bugs, as is the sliding door.  YUCK!  One afternoon last week, I caught about 20 bugs in the span of 2 hours.  Every time I turned around, there was another bug.  I figured out where they were coming in, a light fixture in the kitchen, and sealed that off.  Problem solved.  or course, I still had a jar full of stink bugs with which to contend . ..  but I left that up to DH=)  After a few hours, you could see a bunch of “wetness” (as my 3yr old called it) in the jar.  YUCK!

Earlier this week, it was cool enough that we decided to fire up the wood stove.  AFter the fire had been burning for a bit, I noticed an interesting smell.  I figured that it was the smell of the stove not having been used all summer.  You know, like when you turn the heat on in your car after not having used it for awhile. .  there’s this smell.  That’s what I figured it was.  Well, the next day, I had caught one stink bug and it was hanging out in the jar.  I saw another one and when I added it to the first, I noticed this smell.  Yeah, the SAME smell that had come from the stove.  So I guess DH had been right, it WAS the smell of the annihilation all of the stink bugs that had taken up residence in the chimney and stove .  GROSS!  Can’t say that I was sorry to see them go up in smoke, but I could have done without the stench!  YUCK!  Fortunately, they are totally harmless to humans.  But frankly, any bug that is so ubiquitous that it manages to get in peoples purses, wallets and such, no matter how harmless, is just disgusting!

Now aren’t you glad you read this lovely little post=)