Stink Bugs On My Tomatoes

Q: I had a bumper crop of tomatoes on my 5th-floor balcony this summer until stink bugs got at them. The damage they do doesn’t show on the outside but makes a hard white spot on the meat of the tomato. Do you know of a remedy? 

A: Insecticidal soap and horticultural oil will kill them when they are young but not as they mature. The first stinkbugs hatch in May, so keep your eyes peeled for juvenile insects that fly up from below. Besides the sprays, beneficial insects also prey on stinkbugs. Plant pots of alyssum, thrift, annual salvia, agastache, and yarrow nearby. Their flowers are good habitats for a variety of beneficial insects.