That Stinks!

They’re back.

The stink bugs!

I dread it...

I look into the orange tree

and catch my first glance...

an orange back...

My first stink bug. 

And then I see it...

another one and another one

and another one and ...

thousands of them,

stinking up the place with their vile stench.

If they were friendly

to the tree I’d be happy to put up

with the stink –

but they’re not friendly!

Their sucking and piercing mouth bits

suck the juices from my tiny oranges.

I hear that they can bite, too. 

It will leave an itchy mark on an adult,

possibly harm a child

and make an animal sick.

I also hear that

in some African countries,

stink bugs make it to the dinner table! 

I wish the people could come here

and collect platefuls of dinner

from my tree!

(I’m not overly keen

on trying them myself...

any takers?)

I am a little worried to find

that they also enjoy pears,

apples, plums and grapes...

they may have to be eaten

if they get too carried away

in my garden!

No organic sprays seem to work

and people have tried insecticides –

only to have them all back again

the next year... so,

people have turned to

different methods...

The best –

people grab their vacuum cleaner

and head off to their

stink bug infested trees... 

They suck up all of the bugs

and then toss them into boiling water

or a pot of metho! 

Hehe.

Others shake the bugs from the trees

with a big stick...

Me – I still like cutting them

into pieces with a pair of scissors. 

Today was my first cutting session –

snip snip snip snip.

I’ll get some more tomorrow...

unless someone would like to eat them.

 

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