Stink Bugs Stink!

Yesterday morning Robby and I lounged around the house. After I rode my bike (on the trainer) I took a shower and prepared for a day of doing nothing. Robby asked to go for a bike ride, so I switched legs and we headed outside.

We happily pedaled around the neighborhood singing "The Wheels on the Bus" with gusto. It's good that most of my neighbors are either elderly with impaired hearing or employed because I'm sure I'd receive complaints if they were able to hear us! What Robby and I lack in talent we certainly make up for with enthusiasm.

During the ride I began to smell the unmistakable odor of stink bugs. Those invasive little bugs have descended on our house like the plague. "Find the stink bug" is now one of Robby's favorite activities; the game can keep him busy for hours before he finally quits.

When we finally got home, we settled in to watch a cartoon and to make lunch. The stink bug smell was overwhelming. No matter where I went in the house the smell seemed to follow. I was beginning to feel grateful for my self-imposed day of relaxation because I was beginning to feel nauseous from the odor.

In the late afternoon, with the smell not dissipating, my frustration was rising. No matter how many bugs I moved out of the house, I couldn't get rid of the musty odor. I gave up, finally sitting down on the couch, kicking off my leg and turning on the TV.

Um... does anybody know how to get smashed stink bugs out of a liner and socket? Apparently a family of stink bugs crawled into my "play" leg. Unbeknownst to me, I was smashing and pulverizing them between my liner and socket with each step. No wonder the smell was following me everywhere I walked.

The socket has been wiped clean with Clorox wipes and the liner has been run through the washing machine. I'm not confident that the smell has been removed from the liner because I haven't been able to remove all of the little bug parts from the fabric. I really need to remember to look inside my legs before putting them on!