Stink Bug Concerns & New Dean

Stink Bug Concerns & New Dean

Stink Bug Concerns & New Dean. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

We haven't heard much about the Brown Marmorated Stink bug lately but that doesn't mean it's gone away. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is receiving numerous calls from residents concerned about brown marmorated stink bug populations in and around their homes. Bruce Pokarney, with the Oregon Department of Ag says the bugs are looking for a place to spend the winter.

POKARNEY: We're getting a lot more calls from residents noticing these bugs. We know that it's established in Oregon. It's been here for about 10 years. The population seems to have been growing and of course from an agricultural standpoint this bug is really something we don't want to have established in agricultural areas. We're going to have to deal with it perhaps on a bigger scale with biological control.

Besides major damage to crops the bug emits an unpleasant odor when disturbed.

The University of Idaho has a new dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Beginning Feb 1, Michael Parrella will take the reins. Parrella has a bachelor's degree in animal science from Rutgers University, and a master's and doctorate in entomology from Virginia Tech. His research is focused on developing integrated pest management programs for greenhouse and nursery crops with an emphasis on biological control. He has published more than 100 refereed publications and more than 200 trade press/limited distribution articles.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.

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