With the weather turning cold, it is the beginning of bug season. Certainly we have bugs around here all the time, but this time of year it’s the stinkbugs. Really, they are western conifer seed bugs, but they’re in the same family and stink if you squish them. As the temperatures drop, they do everything they can to get inside where it’s warmer, and find any crack in your home’s defenses. We’ve been vacuuming them up as soon as we see them, but it is a constant battle.
Leptoglossus occidentalis
We had originally thought that they were coming in through a gap near the front door, and that the screened in deck would help keep their numbers down, but unfortunately that is not the case. They also seem to be entering around our window AC unit, though we will be taking that down this weekend. I should check with my thermal scope to find heat signatures and other leaks that may be attracting them.
Watch the weather change…
The updated weather report has be a bit concerned – we are going to be staying around the 50° range before hitting winter temps. The weather updates also now predict snow this weekend. I’ll still try to cover and protect some of the plants, but I don’t know if it will help. Next season, I’ll start the plants indoors a couple weeks earlier, and I’ll also have an extra week with them in the ground. I lost a week this season waiting for the fence to be installed.
With the change in the projected weather, so too are my plans changing. I need to bring in the plants I plan to overwinter and be ready for hard freezes. That also means I need to disassemble my watering system to prevent any damage from a freeze. I had thought I had a couple weeks left to get that all done, but apparently not.
There are a lot of things to complete for the final winter prep, and I see another bug to vacuum, so I had better get to it…
Song of the day: Godzilla by Blue Öyster Cult