The stink bugs are coming! The stink bugs are coming!

Stink bugs.  They're invading southwestern Pennsylvania, and coming to a warm, brightly lit indoor space near you. 

As far as I can tell, it happened like this.

Last Fall - I vacuumed up perhaps a dozen dead stink bugs on our porch
Early summer - One or two stink bugs on our porch on occasion, nothing consistent
Last week - Two stink bugs got into our house when we left the screen door open, but the porch didn't seem to be overrun with them
Tuesday, September 21st - HOLY STINKBUGS! CALL THE EXTERMINATOR! THEY'RE TRYING TO GET IN!!!!!!

Ewwww...

Today, Thursday, September 23rd - Dammit, they're in.  Time to take defensive action.  CALL IN THE GUARD!

I know we're not the only ones.  Yesterday Twitter and Facebook were literally consumed with comments about stink bugs.  I'm not sure that anyone in Pittsburgh could talk about anything else.



They are swarming on our front window.  I counted 28 from just a quick glance, and I'm pretty sure the numbers increased after that.  There have to be at least 200 on our porch, but I didn't bother counting - there were A LOT, let's just leave it at that.  I was out on the porch talking to my mom on the phone, and one flew into my ear.  I literally screamed like a five year old girl, because their buzzing sound is just. so. loud.

Originally, I was operating on a "no kill" plan.  I would catch them and release them outside.  But seriously, what kind of idiot am I!?!? They're an invasive species!!!  They don't deserve my mercy! Plus, now that their numbers are so great, I can't open the door to release one without 5 to 10 more getting in!  It's not worth it... I'm now resorting to one of the two most popular methods of dealing with stinkbugs - flushing them down the toilet.  (The second most popular method - from what I can gather - is sucking them up in the vacuum cleaner.)  As a bleeding heart animal activist, you must believe me when I say that flushing five stink bugs down the toilet just now seriously left me a lump in my throat, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go to hell for it. 

But then I look back up at that picture, and I remember that they're taking over my house.

So, here's the question... Are there stinkbugs where YOU live?  (And if there aren't, where do you live? I may move there.)