Apparently, our home has been prone to stink bugs! We first noticed them this past September as the weather turned cold, and we had opened the walls and doors for construction. I remember my first sighting of one. Felix was with me as it flew right past me and landed on
Until I would see another, and another, and another.
Are they not the ugliest things you have ever seen? Completely archaic looking and just gross. They move extremely slow, which is a plus, but they do up and fly at times- a con.
I have called pest control after pest control company just begging someone to douse my house in spray that will kill these, and nobody has a solution. The good news is that they only want to enter your house in Sept/Oct, hang out inside the walls throughout the winter if they manage to escape the "Wrath of Jill", and then hightail it outta there in March/April. They don't bite or sting and only feed on plants. They are only looking for warmth.
Unfortunately, they get vacuumed up in my house if I see them. But I hate walking in the house having to scan all the walls and windows before being able to sit and relax, for fear of seeing one. We even send Felix upstairs before bedtime to check and make sure none have sought refuge in
Yesterday, after returning home from leaving the house abandoned for 2 weeks, I came home to find seven. YES. seven of these little guys around the windows of their favorite room in the house- trying to escape to the warm sun they have been waiting for. I vacuumed them up and promptly called for professional assistance.
After today's assessment from a professional service, they assured me I most likely have seen the last of them. Although there are no guarantees.... just hearing someone say that has helped me to relax in the house, even just a bit.
They recommended vinyl siding for the house, which would eliminate the carpenter bees, the carpenter ants, and these guys (or greatly reduce). So, until we hit the lottery or save up another few years, we can seal and caulk the house as best we can in preparation for their next invasion in the Fall and can rest assured that we should be stink-bug-free for the next 4-5 months. And that is good enough for me!
He did say we should do the best with what we have- that we have lots of trees, and a great yard, and bugs come with that. I'm such a sucker for compliments! Our yard is not landscaped in the least, and covered in pine needles, but he called it great. And so I like him.
My daughter, who unfortunately learns too quickly from me, is scared of bugs as well. Yesterday, she helped me find the 7th one crawling on the window behind the curtain. She lifted up the curtain and said "oh, hello ladybug" (every bug is called 'ladybug'). I pulled back the curtain and said "there are no ladybugs here honey", to which she pointed in the corner and responded "look, right there. Mommy, vacuum." She was right, and vacuum we did.
And in the interest of my daughter, my soon-to-be newborn son, and my dog, the company suggested not spraying pesticides inside the house. Although they said it would kill any of these stinkers that managed to get inside, I would just be vacuuming up dead ones instead of alive ones. What if I promise not to let my kids lick the walls, then could we spray? At least he promised we can spray the outside with their turbo mega insecticide, up and down all the walls and in the cracks, which he said should greatly eliminate them for this coming Fall.
We shall see. In the meantime, it is safe to come over for the next few months, so come on out and visit while you can!
No comments:
Post a Comment