The stink bug population is six times larger this year than
last. The stink bug population is six times larger this year
than last. Matt Rourke/AP If you live along the East Coast,
there's a pretty good chance that stink bugs may be lurking in
your attic or even behind your curtains. The invasive insects
from Asia, which exude a rubber-like stench when you crush them,
are a nuisance for you, but a serious pest for farmers. Crop
producers received a reprieve from the bugs in 2012, but the
insects may be coming back and with a greater spread of attack.
Bob Black says he was not in a good place in 2010. "This thing
is really gonna put a big chapter in my book of life," he said.
"I've never had anything affect me like this." Black runs
Catoctin Mountain Orchards in Thurmont, Md., and like other
farmers across the region, he was being assaulted by brown
marmorated stink bugs. They disfigure all kinds of crops,
ranging from corn to peaches. One year they hit Black's apples.
"One of my late varieties, Pink Lady — wh