Stink Bugs Are Ruining Virginia’s Apples
July 25, 2011 | 1 min to read
As if you needed another reason to dislike stink bugs: they are ruining Virginia's apples.
The malodorous insects caused $37 million in damage to the 11 varieties grown in the Old Dominion, according to the office of the secretary of Agriculture and Forestry.
That's why the state, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is allowing farmers to spray up to 29,000 acres of crops with certain insecticides until Oct. 15.
Use of the pesticides, which go under fierce sounding names like Venom Insecticide and Scorpion 35SL, will be largely limited to the central and western parts of Virginia, where most apples are grown. But agricultural officials are worried the stink bug may migrate to Hampton Roads to feast on some of the region's biggest crops: corn, soybeans and cotton.
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