Stinky

The brown marmorated stink bug was accidentally introduced to the US in the mid 90s and we’ve had them as long as we’ve lived here. They come in during the cold weather. They’re like itsy bitsy little skunks — leave them alone and they’re benign, but addled they give off a horrible smell. The smell hasn’t really bothered me in the past but this year the population increased and, oh my gosh, do they ever reek. You have to be extra careful picking them up with a tissue because if you squeeze, you lose. They have a habit of landing on illuminated lamps where they are promptly cooked, and one day my cleaning lady called because she could smell smoke. I immediately drove home to the familiar smell of the fried stink bug.

Last night I was reading in bed with Sherman curled up next to me. All of a sudden he woke up, completely alert. Now remember that Sherman can’t hear, so it was not a noise that roused him, but whatever it was caused him to jump off the bed and run into the crate. Of course I knew right away what it was, and I gently removed it from the quilt and sent it swimming with its cousins in the toilet.