That's what James calls our house. He's right, it's where stink bugs go to die. They put on a good show before they leave us though. There's not one room in our house where you can sit and not hear to the buzzing of them or have one smack into you. Their landings aren't graceful. Just bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz thwack! Walking up our stairs you will knock many of them off the railing if you slide your hand along it. If you visit us you need to be sure to look in or on anything you're going to eat or drink because they love to sit on the edge of a glass.
The other night I was in bed uncovered because it was a warm night and we don't have air conditioning. I must have picked 5 or 6 stink bugs off me during the night and threw them on the floor. Makes you want to visit, doesn't it? Recently we had some guests and she wanted a fly swatter to kill them. I told her not to bother because there are probably hundreds or even a thousand in our house and she'd spend her whole weekend here swatting bugs. Neither James or I think they smell bad. They're just annoying .
Like many things in the US, they were imported from China. The earliest ones were discovered in 1998, so they haven't been around that long. We also have ladybugs but we can collect them and put them in our green house or garden to help kill unwanted pests off our plants. I vacuum them up and then dump them and they survive, surprisingly. Unfortunately stink bugs aren't useful like that. As a matter-of-fact they could attack our fruit trees. The primary predator to the stink bug in China is a wasp that we don't have but is being trialed here. Great, now we'll have Chinese wasps in our house.
For those of you who live out west and haven't been introduced to stink bugs, here, I'll share the experience with you. Turn your speakers up. These videos don't even come close to the buzzing I'm hearing now as I type this.
How long will they be there? They weren't that bad when we were there in the summer. That could be worse than the flies the first time we were there.
ReplyDeleteKath
O.K., we will not be staying at your house on our next visit.
ReplyDeleteWill they still be there 5/10?
ReplyDeleteWe'll harvest them for a stir-fry or Ninja shake while you're here, Judy, and maybe a cilantro-stink bug salad.
ReplyDeleteWe have them everywhere too! My boys have tortured(and possibly injested) many of them and I have smelled the stinkiness, though it never lasts long. We have accepted them. Resistance is futile. Phyllis Spence
ReplyDeleteWe have declared War on Stinkbugs, I'm afraid. We've bombed under the house and in the house. We've caulked and caulked and discovered every hole in our house. I've re-invented Fly-Tape, with a Masking tape version just for stink bugs. I will not go down without a fight. I may stink when I'm done, but I will be victorious. My sympathies to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Yogi think of them?
ReplyDeleteYogi doesn't seem to notice them. Sometimes they're dead in his water bowl. He drinks around them.
ReplyDelete