Stink Bugs
Pest · Commonly affects: Tomatoes, Peppers, Beans, Sweet corn, Okra, Peaches
Stink bugs are shield-shaped insects in the family Pentatomidae that feed on a wide range of garden fruits and vegetables using piercing-sucking mouthparts. They matter to home gardeners because their feeding scars and internal corking ruin the appearance and eating quality of crops, and the invasive brown marmorated stink bug has made them a larger problem across much of the United States.
How to identify it
Adults are roughly half an inch long with a broad, flat, shield-shaped body and a triangular plate in the middle of the back; common kinds include the mottled brown marmorated stink bug, the bright green stink bug, and the dull brown stink bug. Look for alternating light and dark bands on the antennae and along the outer edge of the abdomen, and expect a strong, unpleasant odor when the insects are disturbed or crushed. Barrel-shaped eggs are laid in tight clusters on the undersides of leaves, and the young nymphs are rounder and often marked with red, orange, or black.
Damage
Stink bugs pierce fruits, pods, and seeds to feed, injecting saliva that kills plant cells and leaves sunken, discolored areas. On tomatoes and peppers this shows up as pale, corky spots or cloudy patches beneath the skin, beans and okra develop dimpled and twisted pods, and the feeding wounds can open the door to fruit-rotting organisms.
Prevention
Clean up weeds, leaf litter, and overwintering shelter such as tall grass and brush along garden edges, since these harbor adults through the season. Rotate crops so the same fruiting vegetables are not planted in the same spot year after year, give plants enough spacing for good air flow and easy inspection, and harvest fruit promptly so it spends less time exposed. Keeping soil healthy and plants evenly watered helps them tolerate and outgrow light feeding, though no vegetable variety is fully resistant to stink bugs.
How to manage it
Scout often and handpick adults, nymphs, and egg masses, knocking them into a container of soapy water in the cool early morning when they are sluggish. Floating row covers keep them off young plants, but the covers must be lifted once flowering begins so pollinators can reach the blossoms. Encourage natural enemies such as parasitoid wasps, tachinid flies, predatory spined soldier bugs, and birds by keeping some flowering plants nearby, and use a trap crop like a border of sunflowers to draw the bugs away from your main vegetables where you can collect and destroy them.
General guidance for US home gardens, focused on prevention and non-chemical control. For a confirmed diagnosis and options specific to your area, contact your local Cooperative Extension office. Page updated Aug 4, 2026.