Where Have All the Stinkbugs Gone?

Another week… and even fewer stinkbugs. Really?! Can we trust that we have defeated this insidious enemy? Where is the “plague of biblical proportions” we were warned of?

Last year at this time, they were everywhere. Survival meant launching daily counterattacks against their dive-bombing, slithering, buzzing and intruding into hair, food, drinks, toiletries, closets, clothes… EVERYWHERE. Hours were spent spraying stinkbugs and killing stinkbugs and cleaning stinkbug carcasses, and by the time we finished, fresh enemy forces had already gathered.

But now… nothing. Patrols last mere minutes to simply sweep up a few random bodies. The new weapon of choice, a bottle filled with alcohol and eucalyptus oil, is only picked up briefly to spray a random stinkbug intruder or two. They are seemingly gone. GONE. As in there are no more. Visitors ask after them.

“Where have all the stinkbugs gone?”

I have no idea.

Of course, I have theories. Perhaps the stinkbug invaders found that we were too much effort to conquer, and so they have packed up their evil soldiers and are headed off to terrorize the next planet. Perhaps they contracted some sort of illness that we had not considered – much like in War of the Worlds – and are simply dying off as a result. Perhaps our efforts put enough of a dent in their breeding cycle – by killing them before they could breed – that they are not able to reproduce at the same shocking rate.

And perhaps, they are simply waiting…

Stinkbug Trick?

Lately, I’ve been facing only a handful of stinkbugs a day. My morning patrol sweeps up only ten or twenty, instead of the previous hundreds. I should be rejoicing in my victory. Instead – I’m afraid.

Despite the multi-pronged attack I have been launching, I find it hard to believe that it could possibly be this easy to defeat this dreaded enemy. Are the stinkbugs really gone? Or are they just lying in wait, biding their time until I am lulled into a false sense of security? Perhaps the stinkbugs are secretly breeding and training their soldiers so that when I have lost my defensive edge, they can launch their final attack.

Just in case they ARE actually on the run, however, I will share the approach that, for the time being, seems to actually be working against them.

  1. Regular bimonthly spraying of Home Defense on the outside perimeter, with special focus on doors and windows through which stinkbugs love to slither.
  2. Daily sweeps of stinkbug carcasses from floors and window sills.
  3. Deployment of the dreaded Tower of Death whenever they are active and flying at night.
  4. Regular mopping and wall and windowsill cleaning of the dreaded stinkbug trail. It’s important to remove all sign of those yucky brown drops which contain the stinkbug scent and lure their fellows to join them in your happy home.
  5. Spraying along the inside of all doors and windows with a mixture of alcohol and either mint extract or eucalyptus oil. This smells nice and actually seems to repel them.
  6. Continued vigilance. We must NEVER relax our guard against these evil enemy invaders!

 

Stinkbug Song Hit!

Last night, Iris Hirsch debuted her new hit song “Stinkbug Wars,” inspired by this very blog and written with some small assistance from yours truly. To hear the song, click here: Stinkbug Wars sung by Iris Hirsch.

Stinkbug Wars

They’re lurking in the corner
Flying fearless in the night
A single silent soldier
Or an army poised to fight

No enemy can stop them
Their vast numbers conquer all
Wearing shields of odor
That will lead to our downfall

CHORUS
Stinkbugs, stinkbugs
An alien army invades
Stinkbugs, stinkbugs
Laughing in the face of Raid
Of all of China’s treasures
Why did these reach our shores?
We need to find a weapon
That can stop these Stinkbug Wars

Sleeping in the winter
Attacking in the spring
Buzzing fiercely with delight
At the anguish that they bring

They want light and they want warmth
Taking over is their goal
Can nothing stop the march
Of their noxious little souls?

CHORUS
Stinkbugs, stinkbugs
An alien army invades
Stinkbugs, stinkbugs
Laughing in the face of Raid
Of all of China’s treasures
Why did these reach our shores?
We need to find a weapon
To stop these Stinkbug Wars

No poisons, potions, pistols
No Birds, no bugs, no beasts
Can rid us of these putrid pests
Are we heading for defeat?

Our homes become their playgrounds
Our garden’s a tasty treat
When we squash them they smell like
Rotten eggs and dirty feet

Flush them down the toilet
Whack them with a bat
Vacuum, Taser, torture them
A good stinkbug is flat!

Copyright ©May 2011 Iris Ann Hirsch and Lydia Whitney

Dead Stinkbug Soldiers

This morning the fruit of recent spraying sorties was finally reaped; dead stinkbug soldiers littered the windowsills and floor. The enemy has, however re-ammassed in daunting numbers despite their losses. Luckily, reinforcements have arrived… with heavy artillery. A Shop-Vac sortie against the dreaded Stink Bug Horde was launched and completed successfully. Now to wait…

 

Dead stinkbug bodies killed by spraying poison.

Dead Stinkbug Warriors Litter the Field

Copyright ©2011 Lydia Whitney

Stinkbug Products Rock!

I am so excited! I just got a goody box from Daniel Murphy at www.StinkyBug.com filled with cool stinkbug products.

Stinkbug humor adorns notepads and coasters.

Clearly, these products show the humorous side of the war against Stinkbugs!

I’ve also launched the latest weapon against stinkbugs from Strube’s Stinkbug Traps.  It works great and is much more user-friendly than the original version.

Latest Tabletop Stinkbug Trap Kills!

And, I am finally trying out my Dead Inn Stinkbug Trap. So far, it hasn’t caught many, but I’m patient…

Dead Inn Stinkbug Trap Deployed on Deck

Dead Inn Stink Bug Trap Deployed on Deck

Front Line, Stink Bug Wars

The ongoing siege has demoralized the troops, and even the fearless feline footsoldiers will no longer engage the enemy. After trying to ignore their screen-coating tactics, slithering entry into all rooms and occasional dive-bombing, I was finally forced to fortify myself with vino last night and engage in a hunt and capture mission. My hands still stink, despite the protective tissue I used…

Unfortunately, my efforts will be for naught unless I resort yet again to chemical warfare. Time to don plastic gloves for Stage II of the counter attack…

Wish me luck, my fellow stinkbug warriors!

Copyright ©2011 Lydia Whitney

Stinkbug Trail of Destruction

I recently noticed myriad brown drops around my home. They were on the floor, on furniture, even on the wall. I knew immediately that they HAD to come from the enemy. Who else would defile my home? My first thought was that the glue from the Tower of Death was dripping from them, as it had all slipped down to pool at the bottom of the trap.(NOTE: I just deployed the newest version of Strube’s Stinkbug Traps and it seems to be far better designed! I’ll report back on it’s success.)

So, I cleaned up the annoying spots. Luckily, a solution of Murphy’s Oil Soap and a little elbow grease were a successful combination. I also threw out the trap, as it seemed to have outlived it’s usefulness. I thought the issue was resolved. Another small victory for me in my ongoing war against the enemy stinkbug…

But no. Now I see more brown spots appearing throughout my home. Time for research. And there was very little to be found. Nothing from the experts, but from others who are on the frontlines of this battle against the stinkbug fiends, I found similar reports:

“It is important to remove the brown “trail” left behind from the Stink Bug. This “trail” is what attracts other Stink Bugs into your home. Look carefully as it looks like a small, brown, drop of blood, or a brown “drip” running down your wall or window/door frame.” Aha!

So, the evil enemy has yet another way to torment me. Big surprise. Their malevolence is boundless… DEATH TO STINKBUGS!!
Stinkbug Trail of Brown Liquid Drops

Copyright ©2011 Lydia Whitney

Stinkbugs Bite!

As I sat at my computer working, I felt a sharp pain on my bare foot. I reached down and found a stinkbug. Biting me. But wait, haven’t I been reading article after article in which the “experts” assure us that these atrocious creatures don’t bite? I was confused. And irritated. So, I decided to do some research. After all, it’s what I do. You see, I happen to be an expert myself. I was an English teacher for 18 years, and I now live in a home fully infested with stinkbugs. They DO bite. And it hurts.

According to the Mirriam Webster Dictionary, bite means

1a: to seize, especially with teeth or jaws so as to enter, grip or wound; 1b: to wound pierce or sting especially with a fang or proboscis; 2: to cut or pierce with or as if with an edged weapon; 3: to cause sharp pain or stinging discomfort to

According to the experts “the brown marmorated stinkbug feeds by sucking on plant juices with its beak, which is made with straw-like mouthparts. Its damage can range from mild to severe;” “BMSBs feed on host plants by piercing the skin and consuming the juices within; the signs of stink bug feeding appear as “necrotic” or dead spots on the surface;” “Stink bugs feed on plant tissue by piercing the cells and sucking out the contents;” “the brown marmorated stink bug is a sucking insect that uses its proboscis to pierce the host plant in order to feed.”

Seriously?! But they can’t bite? What exactly do these experts consider it when these alien invaders use their mouth to attempt feeding on us?!

News flash, experts: Brown marmorated stinkbugs definitely BITE!

Pun intended.

Copyright © 2011 Lydia Whitney

Stinkbugs in the RV – NASCAR Invaded?

Even the mobile housing unit has been infiltrated by this insidious intruder. We left town, hoping to have a single weekend free of this pernicious pest, and found that even in Delaware, the enemy was able to find us and invade. And there seemed to be numerous technical difficulties for the NASCAR racers as well – perhaps the stinkbugs are testing out a gremlin-style attack? Is there no escape?!

Copyright © 2011 Lydia Whitney

Dead Stinkbug Landmines

After taking a much-needed leave for Mother’s Day, we returned to find dead stinkbug corpses littering the field. Our secondary defenses had kicked in, and the enemy soldiers who had attempted to infiltrate the fortress while we were away found themselves either dying an agonizing death from the poison perimeter they had crossed or succumbing slowly while stuck to the enticing Tower of Death. Our first impulse was to celebrate a joyous victory.

However, we soon realized that even dead, these vicious stinkbug intruders managed to pose a threat. They had positioned themselves with their dying breaths in a random pattern that spread throughout the building, requiring us to step cautiously as we entered in order to avoid inadvertently triggering a dead stinkbug bomb of poisonous odor which could quickly envelop the unwary walker.

Is there no end to their evil?

Copyright © 2011 Lydia Whitney

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