Stink Bugs in the Garden: Friend or Foe? Organic Management

Stink bugs (Cosmopepla bimaculata) feed on seeds, stems, fruits (tomatoes, peaches, squash) by injecting enzymes and sucking juices. Damage: deformed fruit, sunken spots, reduced germination. They also eat other pests—so they're not all bad.

Organic controls:

• Trap crops (e.g., millet, sunflowers) to concentrate them for hand-picking.
• Intercrop diverse plants to confuse host-finding.
• Pyrethrin spray at 3-day intervals, early evening (protects bees).
• Encourage predators: birds, assassin bugs, parasitic wasps.

Monitor; treat only if damage exceeds tolerance.