Anything I can do about stink bugs on tomatoes?

9 years ago

Last year they got completely out of control and ruined any chance of harvesting usable tomatoes. This year is shaping up to be that way. Hand picking isn't working, I can't be proactive enough with it becuase I work too much and the plants are just far too bushy (I don't have them staked, I have them in cages, which was a mistake as the plants are twice as tall as the cages and they're just falling all over the place). to make it really practical.

I've gotten a couple of tomatoes this year and the rest I've had to trash, a lot of them. It's pretty frustrating.

Should I just fold now and tear down the plants and start something else? Is it a lost cause?

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Comments (6)

digdirt2
9 years ago
Surround, a kaolin clay powder has proven effective for me. It as well as other options are discussed in the several other stink bug discussions here.

Dave
drscottr
9 years ago
Hi Dave

For some reason the marmorated stink bugs attack my corn but not the tomatoes. I have Kaolin - what would it do to corn?

Scott
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seysonn
9 years ago
Get a cordless handheld vacuum cleaner and suck them in and destroy them.
digdirt2
9 years ago
Never used it on my corn Scott. Don't have the need for it here on corn. So can't say for sure. But corn is one of the crops it is recommended for. See label linked below and scroll down to about page 12 for the corn application rates.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Surround pesticide label
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
9 years ago
I can't remember where I saw this, but there is a marvelous YouTube video around about using diatomaceous earth to deal with stink bugs. Yes, everyone says to use it, but they don't really say how!

What you do is get your shop vac out, and connect the hose to the output, so you use it as a blower. Then mist the tomatoes. Now grab a handful of DE and, while standing in front of the tomatoes, blow the DE all over them. It sticks! My understanding is that this *completely* removes the stink bug problem. Yes, rinse off the harvested tomatoes before you eat them. This treatment needs to be done just every few weeks (unless it rains hard.)

I had a bad problem with stink bugs and tomatoes last year, before I heard about this strategy. I was picking and vacuuming until I was blue in the face. I've been prepared to use this strategy, but haven't yet seen a single stink bug.
gama_garden_tx
9 years ago
If you are gonna spray, then I agree with Dan.

But for this time of year, if it is not the stink bugs it will be something else. I would pull them out, and replant for the fall crop. Organic tomatoes in Texas are only good for spring and fall. Forget about trying summer unless you want to go to war with bugs.

Spring: harvest by May, then pull.
Fall: start seeds indoors now for fall crop

June-August is prime bug time.

I got a late start (not harvesting by May for tomatoes) on everything & now all the veggies are infested. I plant stuff to attract beneficial insects, so I'll give them a chance to eat the enemies first before I pull.