Jonestown, PA

[CWtheMan]

Jonestown, PA

This story is just a short glimpse of a two week stop at a KOA campground in Pennsylvania with our traveling friends and companions.

We had decided on the KOA during phone cons. We were getting a late start heading north because we had both spent time (a month) in our wives hometowns; they in IL and us in SC.

We choose the KOA because of location. We had big plans for visiting all the surrounding attractions in the Amish/Mennonite communities. Lebanon, Hershey, Lancaster, Reading & Philadelphia were all on our list of things to do. Lots of other stories will come from some of those side trips.

We got to the KOA a day before our friends and were all set-up when they came rolling in.

Those that have been in and around the Amish are going to have an easier time with this little bit of CG gossip. The KOA is larger than it looks in the few pictures posted below. It’s a Tuesday and early in the season so not many campers, yet, they’ll be there by the weekend.

What we didn’t know or was told about was, we were enjoying the normal prevailing winds. When they did a 180, the reality of Amish dairy farming was thrust right at us. Along with the stench came thousands of flies, biting flies. They first raided us during a large fire ring gathering with live entertainment on a Friday evening. You should have seen everyone scurrying back to their RVs to “batten down the hatches”.

All in all it was a beautiful CG with a nice country store/office and very quiet at night. There is no way to counter the flies and stench, it’s all part of the Amish country side.

[Hblick48]

I grew up in Lebanon, PA, very close to Jonestown. When the farmers plow and fertilize their fields, there's no escaping the smell. I still vividly remember it, and I haven't lived there for 50 years.

Drove our fiver there twice in the last 3 years. Stayed at Hershey 1000 Trails which is actually south of Lebanon. The KOA is north of town, but the smell is EVERYWHERE.

I am still finding stink bug carcasses in the rig, and it's been over a year since we were there. Don't think they like the climate in California.

[firestation12]

We stayed 7 months near Rochester NY last year, arriving home to Arizona November 1. We're still finding sting bugs emerging from the camper each afternoon when the camper warms up inside. I've put bug bombs inside and outside in the 5 storage compartments twice, and still we find a few emerging bugs now and then. It has become the gift that keeps on giving. Unlike Hblick48, they seem to like Arizona.

[Tbos]

We were supposed to go there this fall. Thanks for the report. Because of the virus we have had a change our plans. We will be in TN instead.

[JRTJH]

Our trailer was "infested" with stink bugs at the FamCamp at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton. There was a "Bradford pear tree" just outside the main trailer door (we couldn't open the awning fully) and the 4th day of a 7 day visit, DW noticed a few stink bugs in the bathroom. We left 3 days later (as scheduled) headed south. The next morning, I used the wet/dry vac to remove as many as I could find in the front storage compartment. We "shedded stink bugs" from Dayton to Memphis, to Little Rock and back.

When we got home, I emptied the entire trailer, cleaned, vacuumed and cleaned some more. We still found stink bugs the rest of that year. Over the winter, with -30F temps in the pole barn, they seemed to die.

It's been 2 years now and we still find an occasional "fossilized stink bug" but fortunately, no live ones. We're reluctant to park around Dayton knowing what's in store if we do...…

If you want to get rid of them, from what I can find out, the only way is to "freeze the damn little buggers" all winter long (and hope for the best)…...