Just about everyone is asking, “What can we do about stink bugs this year?”
Gardeners are wondering how to keep the stinkers from damaging their tomatoes, raspberries, blackberries, and other fruits. Commercial farmers are awaiting word about how to protect their soybean, corn, and fruit crops. Homeowners are asking how to keep stink bugs out of their homes.
Will imported, parasitic wasps destroy their eggs? Will pheromone traps lure them to their deaths? Will pesticides kill them? Will repellents send them flying to a neighbor’s garden?
They are some of the possibilities being researched. They’re mentioned in Mary Carole McCauley’s article, “Tiny wasps could curb massive stink bug invasion,” in the Baltimore Sun. This is the best recent article I’ve seen on the subject, but it concludes there appears to be no quick, easy solution.
To read the Sun article, CLICK HERE. You can save two minutes by scrolling down to the substantive article and ignoring the general video offered at the top of the page.
Just a thought. Wouldn't pesticides work. These things can't be immune to poison!
ReplyDeleteThe problem is complex for several reasons. First, stink bug adults don't seem to respond to many of the standard insecticides. Second, spraying insecticides on food crops doesn't work if the chemical harms people. So research is ongoing to try to sort out all the issues and come up with reasonable recommendations. It's not clear whether the research will result in a recommendation for an insecticide for Gardens 2011.
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