Stink Bugs Destroy Crops At Germantown Farm | News

GERMANTOWN, Md. (WUSA) -- The Red Wiggler Community Farm in Germantown is infested with stink bugs.

Founder Woody Woodroof says the stink bugs cause discoloration, changes the texture, and make crops inedible.

He says his farm has lost 15 percent of its crops to the bug. It's a loss for the farm and for the people that work there.

"We grow and sell vegetables as a framework for training adults with developmental disabilities," Woodroof says.

He says they are using a floating row cover to protect crops from stink bugs.

"We're a certified organic farm," Woodroof says, "What that means is we don't spray chemical based pesticides or herbicides."

Woodroof says nothing else has worked, nor have any other insects prayed on the stink bug.

He says other farms are seeing the same thing.

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett says he will asking for $3 Million to help fund research to protect crops from the the stink bug.

Written by Lindsey Mastis
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