Stink Bugs and Tomatoes
by William Campbell,
Stink Bug Expert
Anyone who has bought a tomato recently has noticed that they price seems to be steadily climbing. Not only is the price of the fresh tomato getting higher, but so is the cost of every single food product that relies on tomatoes as one of its main ingredients, including spaghetti sauce. While there are several reasons for this increase in price, the stink bug is at least partially to blame.
Technically speaking, the stink bug is harmless. Since the bug is herbivorous, it does not really bother humans. Farmers all over the Mid-Atlantic States all the way to Pennsylvania know better. The bug is causing them all sorts of headaches, quickly destroying many of their crops.
The insect comes into their fields and attacks the tomato plants. A single bite mars the fruit and makes it unsalable. Since the farmer has fewer tomatoes to sell, the overall price of the tomato must increase.
Farmers in the Mid-Atlantic States are the ones who are the most concerned with the current problem, but it is something that should be concerning fruit farmers all over the United States.
The stink bug has very few natural predators and is finding plenty to eat, as a result. The population increase may continue until the insect has spread across the entire United States.
The best way to control the population is by spraying a pesticide over the tomato plants. If enough of the fields get treated with the pesticide, the stink bug population could eventually be knocked back hard. In addition to making sure that the large tomato farms are taking evasive action to control the population, the US Department of Agriculture should also ask that gardeners are also taking a proactive stance to assist in controlling the spread of this menace.
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