WSU: Stink bugs infesting Puget Sound region

PULLMAN, Wash. — Researchers for Washington State University are being deluged with reports of brown marmorated stink bugs, especially from western Washington.

Entomologist Michael Bush says he has received 300 reports in three weeks about the smelly creatures.

He says the majority of stink bug sightings are from King, Pierce and Thurston counties, with sporadic reports coming eastern Washington.

Bush says the bugs move indoors during the winter months, and now are trying to get back outside.

Marmorated stink bugs gorge on vegetables, fruit trees, nuts and ornamental plants.

They inflicted millions in damage to agricultural crops in the Mid-Atlantic states in 2010, the same year they were first detected in Washington state. They have been found in 21 counties across the state.

WSU is among 18 universities monitoring the insect's spread.

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Associated Press