WASHINGTON After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved two new insecticides for emergency use for the prevention of brown marmorated stink bugs, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, is applauding the move.

“I’ve been paying close attention to this issue, and I’m encouraged that the EPA has taken this important step to protect our farmers,” Rockefeller said in a statement. “I also recognize that this is only part of a solution and that continued research is needed to permanently control the stink bug population.”

According to the EPA, approval of dinotefuran (with the trade names of Venom and Scorpion) on tree fruit applies only to West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and New Jersey known as an emergency exemption. Under this exemption, producers of stone and pome fruits are allowed to manage the brown marmorated stink bug with two applications of the insecticide by ground equipment per season.

Dinotefuran will control stink bug population, which commonly causes losses in tree fruit production in the mid-Atlantic region.