What Could Possibly Go Wrong? part 1

As a new host on Airbnb, I wanted everything to go perfectly for our guests. I personally attended to the cleaning and details of every room before our first guests arrived. I was confident that no detail was overlooked. So, when, at midnight, I received a text from the guests in the third-floor room, my heart sank as I read: “So sorry to inform you that we found about 20 stink bugs in the bed tonight… by any chance, would you have anything to help?”

My first thought was of the guests vacating their room immediately and leaving a scathing review on Airbnb, ending our chance of ever renting a room again. I listened for the sound of a car peeling out of the driveway as I frantically typed a text back, meekly offering to come vacuum up the bugs and to let them stay in our one vacant room. Should I run up to the room with a vacuum and bug spray in hand? Or should I wait for them to respond to my offer? After all, it was after midnight, and I didn’t want to invade their privacy or wake up the guests in the other rooms. As I fretted about what I should do next my phone buzzed with a text, “We would be happy to have a vacuum cleaner tomorrow. Thank you!”

This is when my education on invasive insects in Pennsylvania began. I spent the next few hours reading about the notorious brown marmorated stink bug known for invading homes in the fall to seek out warm protected places to spend the winter. Apparently, we are not the only ones who find a bed to be a cozy warm place to spend the night. Since then, I have learned about and seen the invasion of the spotted lanternfly, boxelder bug, and Asian lady beetle. Fortunately, our guests that night were familiar with the insects found in the farmlands of the Pennsylvania countryside. They even left us a fabulous 5-star review.