Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Reappearance of My Arch-Enemy

~Hamlet, Sleeping with the Enemy~ 
In July of 1863 Robert E. Lee retreated south and General Mead, who commanded the Union Army of the Potomac, crossed the river into Loudoun County from Brunswick Maryland.  He headquartered briefly in the town where I live, before moving into the surrounding area.  If only my arch-enemy the brown marmorated stink bug would follow suit and leave town too.  Warmer temps have brought this foe, one that I truly despise, out of its winter hiding place inside our house.  While there as not as many as there are in late summer, they are moving pretty slow, and are unable to fly.  But to me, none of that matters, they are still practically everywhere and on everything--sometimes even us. The stink-bug has one enemy that easily kills it, the cold.  But like true soldiers, they are afraid of nothing.  However, I have to be honest because I know there are not many things that are afraid of me or the Goldens...sigh... 

Wendy in the only place that is free of stink-bugs.

40 comments:

  1. Those things are nasty for sure!!!

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  2. Aren't they just TERRIBLE?!? They've started to show up around here too. Of course that's not so strange since we're "just up the road" from Loudoun but sheesh! It feels like we JUST got rid of them! Have you tried the dishwater solution spray?

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  3. Oh, YUK! I suppose they are thinking of laying eggs to hatch in the Spring. We have spiders, and I don't like them either!)

    Have a great weekend!

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  4. Oh NO! Do they really stink?

    I'd turn the furnace off and open all the windows. But that's just me!

    ;-)

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  5. Blech! I never heard of this critter, so I did some Googling. What a miserable beastie. No wonder you hate them so. Oh, how I hope that our colder climate keeps them away from here.

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  6. i despise those things too! while intently designing something on my computer i got slammed in the head with one last week causing me to shreek! i throw them out the window wrapped gently in a cloth. this is the first year i have had them in the house!

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  7. I hate bugs that aren't afraid of me. I like bugs to run when I appear. I guess that's why I dislike ants so much, they have no respect for people.

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  8. We don't see too many stink bugs here in Okla. but we see plenty of June bugs. When they latch on they don't let go. One got down my mother's dress one time and that was a sight to see. I still laugh when I think about it 45 years later.

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  9. We get the black stink bugs here - but to be honest, I've never stepped on one to smell them! :)

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  10. It's nothing short of amazing that you have stink bugs in Virginia and we have them here in France. Cosmopolitan, durable little critters.

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  11. Oh Kim they have starting coming out of hibernation at my house too. We always use our side entrance when coming and going and most of my friends know to use that door too. Just the other day the Fedex man brought me a package and he dropped it off at the front door. When I opened the door to retrieve it, I was greeted with a stink bug party. YUCK I was horrified. I quickly brushed them all outside and shut the door. I am afraid what the warm temperatures of Spring are going to bring.:) I hope you are having a happy, stink bug free, weekend.
    xoxo
    Mimi

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  12. Yuk! They are nasty! But we never had them inside the house - knock on wood!!

    If it ever happens, there will be no cold that will keep me from opening the windows, like Nancy said!

    Have a great week-end!

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  13. Oh dear, I remember you sayig you hate these bugs last year.
    Wendy looks so happy.

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  14. I'm hoping they never migrate southwest. It's bad enough that we have those awful "ladybug". They stink like crazy!!

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  15. Ugh! I saw something this summer that was the same shape but green and smaller. It had caught a bee (which was much larger than itself) and was eating it! I was horrified, I had never seen anything like that and since the bee was so much larger I could not figure out how this bug had caught it. I wonder if the green bug I saw is related in some way to the "Stink Bug"?
    It would be great to find out as I worry about the bees, so many hives are dying.
    If anyone knows anything about these critters please let me know. I've only ever them on Sunflowers but that could be because that was where the bees were! Thanks!
    Tina xo

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  16. It's too early for Stink Bugs... growl, growl, growl!!! Mom says the smell makes her ill, so you can imagine what it does to my powerful scent detector! Poor Hamlet, and you too Kim.

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  17. Gross...I'm hoping that with living on the Tropic of Capricorn the little buggers don't survive...perhaps they aren't even up this far north...will keep my eyes open.

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  18. Thank god Obama and Harper (Canadian Prime Minister) are working out the details for tighter border security yesterday. Now THAT may keep those critters from passing over the border into Canada! lol

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  19. Oh gosh. I hate stink bugs. We don't have too much of a problem with them... but fleas were starting to be our enemies right before cold weather hit. I think we're flea-free now. But warmer temps are just around the corner.

    It looks like Hamlet might have made friends with the enemy. You know how those dogs are... the stink-ier it is, the more they like it. LOL>

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  20. Kim, how can something so small smell so bad !!!! Can't you get a spray or powder to put down to rid them? Hope you are having a lovley weekend. Sue x x

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  21. Yes, Yes, Yes--I hate those stinkers and we have them inside too. I see them creeping on my bed and I get so mad. We didn’t have to be bothered by these things a year ago and now they are all over--I am not happy. I say Cold-take em away!!

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  22. One of the GOOD things we don't share in common are the 'STINK BUGS'...Very seldom do I ever see them and when I do, their History...
    I LOVE how Hamlet is keeping his eyes on the little bugger...

    Stay Warm
    ~Marilyn

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  23. Woof! Woof! We are not a big fan of bugs. Mom got bit very bad when she was in college n I got bit when I was 4. Golden SNOW Photo. Happy Weekend. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  24. love Wendy in shoulder high snow!
    xoxo

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  25. Kim,
    Stink bugs, bed bugs, lady bugs...any bug is too buggy for me! I do not like bugs AT ALL!!!!
    Hamlet doesn't look thrilled in the least :)

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  26. I have a naive question. Do Stinkbugs stink? I'm guessing that they do... but I don't really know.

    I actually don't really have a problem with bugs but then K had several allergic reactions to spider and tick bites. One reaction was super bad so now we have a syringe of steroids at home to inject her if her face starts swelling... So, I'm not very nice to the spiders or ticks anymore.

    Love the snow photo!

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  27. I'm glad I've never seen a stink bug!!!
    xo Catherine

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  28. Not long after you wrote a post about stink bugs last summer, there was something on the news about how these bugs are taking over en masse. I guess there is no way to kill them! Evidently the cold doesn't do that good a job either, because they're back in warmer weather. Like spiders. The only thing I like about winter is the lack of spiders!

    Liz

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  29. Stink bugs are horrible but Bed Beds would be worse! Love the picture of Wendy in the Snow, this Weather this year is Crazy!

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  30. Hi Kim
    We understand your misery,, but we do not have stink bugs. We have something else,,, we have asian lady bugs and as soon as the weather warms up, they will be waking up in the house (they hibrianated in here for the winter.)
    they stink, they bite and they are everywhere.. If you touch them, then you stink. They crawl on you as you sleep and then in the morning, they will be on your tooth brush.
    I guess we all have something we hate,,, so we understand!
    Poor Hamlet- sleeping with the enemy, and lucky Wendy- no stinky bugs like the snow!
    love
    tweedles

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  31. We get the Asian Lady beetles in late summer/early fall when the soybean crops are harvested. They get into every crack and crevice and they bite. I can totally relate! :)

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  32. Kim,
    Those are stinky bugs for sure.
    They have glands between their legs that releases a foul smelling liquid to deter predators. Hence the name Stink Bugs or Shield Bug.
    Apparently if you plant some millet around your property they will go to that and then the birds will eat them. I have seen a few of them in the garden but I have have a lot of Marigolds planted and they hate the smell of these. I don't know why you have them inside, but hopefully this Winter that you are having will kill them off. Supposedly they also don't like the cold.
    Wendy looks so happy with her warm winter coat playing in the snow peacefully.

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  33. Seems like I remember you made a hilarious post about the dreaded little buggers!
    Hugs and belly rubs to pups,
    ~K

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  34. I never even saw so many stink bugs until I relocated to Virginia~..:)JP

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  35. I don't remember these bugs from when I lived in Princeton or in the N. J. countryside. We have black stink bugs here, but they are different and don't come in the house if they can help it. I have to google these critters too. Sorry about their reappearance.--Inger

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  36. We have stink bugs here in Texas but, apparently, not as prevalent as you have them. We get scorpions in the heat.. we always put out Tide laundry powder around the house. I wonder if that would deter those little stinkers!

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  37. it seems we have stink bugs up here in Ontario.....I am not sure what they exactly look like so have no idea if we actually have had them?

    Gill in Canada

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  38. We hate 'em stink bugs too! We never get them when we were living in Holland. In fact we've never heard of them until we moved to Italy. Gosh these little pests are everywhere!

    Love,
    Homer

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  39. Our stink bugs look like orange lady bugs and come out in the late summer...in droves!!!
    Good luck with yours!
    The beauty of your goldens makes up for those awful little things!!

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  40. Kim,

    I am no fan of the stink bug, but luckily... so far anyway, they have not swarmed us here.... I have heard they are really a problem a little farther north.

    Smart dog!

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