Stink Bugs

Every city has its own bug problems. Cleveland had giant flies and midges. Luckily the flies didn't last long and the midges only stay around for a couple weeks. Those little guys come off of Lake Erie, swarm your porch lights, and then die in piles. Pittsburgh has its own issues. Stink bugs. At first I thought they were beetles and had Jeff kill them. That's his job. I don't do bugs. We quickly learned they were stink bugs and Jeff began flushing them to avoid the nice scent they put off to attract their friends. This summer was especially hot here and our window ac units were a life saver. The only problem is the tiny spaces allowed the stink bugs to parade right into our bedroom. Usually there were just a couple, and Jeff would grab a tissue and do the dirty work. One day we noticed they were hiding behind our curtain that covered our ac unit. I headed downstairs to work on dinner and Jeff marched upstairs to vacuum them up. He was up there for some time and dinner was going to get cold. I went up to check on him and he told me to leave. After about half and hour of the vacuum running he finally made his way back downstairs to tell me the horror he just experienced. Those stinking stink bugs found their way into our house and stayed behind the curtain. Not just a few, but hundreds! HUNDREDS! We pulled the ac units out of the windows pretty quick after that scarring experience. Since then Jeff has referred to the stink bugs in our home as a war.
The story doesn't end here. We are in the dead of winter and still finding these bugs in our house. Absence of bugs is the only redeeming quality winter has for me. One day as I sat up I found one crawling on the pillow where my head had just been resting. Jeff had a lovely encounter as he was putting his shoes on the take out the trash. While talking to me he pulled what appeared to be a piece of bark off his shoelace and put it in his pocket. He looked down and said, "What have I done!" and ran off. The distinct stink bug scent filled the room and I knew immediately. Jeff hung his head and said, "They've won this battle," to which I quickly reminded him that we are still winning the war.