When we moved into our current house, we encountered a little critter referred to as a "stink bug." It's given its name because, as a protection mechanism from being eaten by birds and lizards, it can emit an extremely foul odor. Whenever I pick one up to get rid of it, I get stunk. Every time. My wife, however, using the same technique, does not get stunk. Therefore, she is the official stink bug exterminator in our house.I have developed a fail safe procedure in the event she is not home and the stink bug is dive-bombing me. I call it the "flick and flush." Using a flat piece of paper, magazine, or book - whatever is available will do - I coax the bug to crawl onto the paper and then carefully escort him - no sudden movements - to the toilet. A quick "flick" of the middle finger sends him into the bowl where he promptly gets "flushed."
I learned today that it was around the same time that we moved into the house - in fall of 2001 - that the stink bug first appeared in the United States. All along I thought it had something to do with the location of our house, perhaps being near a natural habitat of the bug. The first documented specimen was collected in Allentown, PA and it is believed that the bug got here by hitching a ride in packing crates from Japan and China.
No comments:
Post a Comment