GOODBYE Stink Bugs! We're Fortified!

I told you the move to fortify our fortress from stink bugs was gonna be BIG.

Big…and expensive.

After thorough research, years of experimentation (see Why We've Been FEEDING & SAVING Stink Bugs,

Stink Bug Hideout, and Stink Bug WAR- Phase 1 Tactic) and suffering (read Stink Bugs in the Dead of Winter,
Stink Bugs: They're Baaaaaack!, Ten Scenes of Horror: Living with Stink Bugs, Our House- The All-Inclusive Stink Bug Resort), we finally made the massive move to keep stinkers OUT.

So how'd we do it?

After tearing off the siding on our beloved home, we uncovered the stink bug's secret entryway, the portal, the highway to hell.

Sunnuva…!

Look at that GAP! Easy on ramp on the highway to hell.

It turns out, there was siding UNDERNEATH our siding. Say whaaa?
Quite a surprise when we discovered this bonkers error.

Because the surface underneath the existing siding was, obviously, not flat (as it should have been) there were large grooves that created easy stink bug paths right into our home.

No-freakin-wonder we've been inundated with spawn!
ARG!

Stink bugs (and tons of other creepsters) crawled up these grooves and entered through the gaps between panels.

A problem we had to remedy!
After removing BOTH layers of the existing siding, we got the job done right.

A bug screen was added to the bottom of each section before the new siding was installed.

Bug screen before being folded up.

The screen prevents bugs from creeping through the underside of the siding.

I love you, bug screen.

And then the new siding was installed.

Every crevice was sealed with caulk, and we will be vigilant in ensuring that every possible gap is sealed in the future.

Flashing strips were added to the base of the home to further prevent any access to the fortress.

So now we wait. 

Give us one full year to report results.

Right now, any stinkers inside our home will be trying to make their way OUT to breed, but when "winter is coming" we know spawn will try to breech our walls for another season of hibernation. 

This time…we'll be ready.

Get psyched for us, friends. I think we've GOT this now.

I have to believe.

Pray for us.

XOXO From My Hearth to Yours

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