Invasive agricultural pest found in Kelowna

An invasive agricultural pest that can cause extensive damage to crops has been discovered in Kelowna, the second confirmed sighting in the Okanagan.

The brown marmorated stink bug was discovered inside a home in December. One of the invasive bugs was also found in Penticton in November.

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"These bugs look for warm wintering sites in the fall and winter, so usually the first detections are by homeowners," said Paul Abram, a federal research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

He said though there have been two confirmed sightings in the Okanagan, it's difficult to estimate how many of the invasive bugs may already be in the province.

"We do have a history of intercepting single individuals that can hitchhike in shipping containers and cars coming up from the United States where there are large established populations."

'Certainly farmers are concerned'

He said outbreaks of brown marmorated stink bugs south of the border show the potential devastating impact on agriculture.

"When it showed up there, there was a lag period of about five to 10 years and then they had an outbreak that did cause 10s of millions of dollars of losses. It also increased insecticide use by about fourfold."

"Certainly, farmers are concerned and justifiably so."

The B.C. government has asked residents to be on the lookout for the destructive pest.

Abram said the province plans to focus efforts this summer on understanding how many of the invasive bugs are already here and how to manage them.

"There probably isn't a way that we can prevent the stink bug from establishing here in British Columbia. It's probably here to stay, so now it's a matter of keeping it below damaging levels."

With files from Daybreak South.