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The Current

Dreaded Stink Bug found in Ontario

Last year, stink bugs ate their way through 37 million dollars worth of apples in the mid-Atlantic U.S. states alone. And now, the stink bug has been spotted in Canada. Today,we introduce you to the newest threat to Canadian agriculture. And if you dislike the combined smell of burnt rubber, rotten cheese and cilantro and you dislike paying more for...
CBC Radio ·
Last year, stink bugs ate their way through 37 million dollars worth of apples in the mid-Atlantic U.S. states alone. And now, the stink bug has been spotted in Canada. Today,we introduce you to the newest threat to Canadian agriculture. And if you dislike the combined smell of burnt rubber, rotten cheese and cilantro and you dislike paying more for local produce... chances are you'll also dislike the hungry little pests.


Part Two of The Current

Stink Bugs - Amy Stewart

Many Americans have learned to despise the brown marmorated stinkbug because the insects like to sneak into homes during the winter months. They don't really cause any damage to houses or people -- unless the bugs are squashed and then you quickly learn why they're call stinkbugs. But the stinkbug smell is the least of the American farmer's problems. Up and down the mid-Atlantic United States, stinkbugs have destroyed whole fields of corn, soybeans and apples. They're originally from Asia and will eat most any crop.

Farmers in Canada now brace for the onslaught because the stinkbug has already been spotted in homes in the Hamilton, Ontario area. With a better idea of what type of damage the stinkbug can inflict, I'm joined by Amy Stewart. She is the author of Wicked Bugs. She was in Eureka, California.

Stink Bugs - Tracy Leskey

We heard farmer Barry Lake explain what a mess stinkbugs made of his Tennessee crop and his livelihood. Our next guest has made it her mission to stop the stink bug from eating its way through North America's best produce. Tracy Leskey is a research entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and she is in Kearneysville, West Virginia.

This segment was produced by The Current's Shannon Higgins.

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