We still don’t know if Weaver’s carries bug vacs, because before we even reached the aisle, we saw a display of stinkbug traps. Could it be?! We thought it would be years before  a stinkbug trap was developed, yet here one was, the Rescue Reusable Stink Bug Trap.

Made by Sterling International in Spokane, Washington, the basic trap includes a pheromone attractant and is designed to be hung outdoors in spring and summer, where it “Catches adult stink bugs before they enter homes” and “Traps younger generations that damage gardens and fruit trees,” according to the package. If you purchase the separate Rescue Stink Bug Light, you can convert your stinkbug trap into an indoor attractant for fall and winter use, where it “Catches stink bugs that have entered homes to overwinter” and “lures insects from indoor living spaces,” again according to the package.

As longtime readers know, I cannot abide stinkbugs. This has nothing to do with their prehistoric appearance—I had a plastic dinosaur that looked rather stinkbug-like when I was a child—and is even a separate issue from the damage they apparently inflict on fruits and vegetables. I simply hate loud, sudden noises and surprise attacks, and stinkbugs specialize in both, blasting off with a motorcycle-like roar from their inconspicuous hiding places to land either on or next to you. It’s enough to shred my last nerve. And of course, one of the main entry points for stinkbug invaders is in the home office where I spend the better part of every day (the other being the kitchen, where I spend hours cooking each day and where OFB and I eat).

All of which is simply to explain why the chronically cash-strapped OFB and I decided to plunk down $21.99 for the trap and an additional $18.99 for the separate light attachment, all for an object that resembles a lava lamp or a really hokey ’50s-era toy spacecraft, depending on your point of view. (It actually reminds me of the screamingly funny blender-based mind-control gadget invented by mad scientist Jim Carrey in “Batman Forever.”)

While OFB, not the most mechanically minded, toiled for hours trying to assemble the trap at home, I did a little online research (incidentally finding that you can buy the basic trap for $16.99 at Amazon or $19.96 at Lowe’s and from Plow & Hearth). Reviews look good, at least for the outdoor version. (It’s a new product, so there aren’t really any testimonials about how well it works in real-home situations yet, as the monsters are just now starting to move in for the winter and the endless heavy rains have slowed them down.) 

The wacky-looking trap is now set up (let’s hope OFB managed to do it right) and standing on a table in our home office, ready to take on invading stinkbugs. Let’s just say I’m not looking forward to watching it in action, since, as the package says, “Trapped insects dehydrate for easy disposal.” Watching trapped stinkbugs struggle and die isn’t my idea of entertainment, to say the least. But I guess it beats watching them crawl into the house, dive-bomb me, and cover every available surface with their brown droppings, not to mention catching them with my bare hands and throwing them out the door.

You can find out more about the traps at www.rescue.com, facebook.com/rescuepestcontrol, and Twitter:@rescue. One caveat: The website says the outdoor traps attract all species of stinkbug. Native stinkbugs are harmless, and some are even beneficial. It’s only the invading brown marmorated stink bug that’s a menace. That’s why the entomologists at the USDA are working so hard to find a control that only attacks the brown marmorated stink bug while leaving all other species unharmed. Fingers crossed that they succeed before spring begins the horrid cycle all over again!

Meanwhile, please let us know if you’ve used traps and if so, how they’ve worked for you.

                  ‘Til next time,

                             Silence

Note: Alert readers will have observed that I use both “stinkbug” and “stink bug” throughout this post. Technically, “stink bug” is correct, so when referring to a species or quoting a source or brand name, I make it two words. But when writing as me, I always call them stinkbugs. They’re awful either way.—Silence