America Braces for a Stink Bug Invasion

Stink bugs did not get their names for no reason - they emit an unbearable smell similar to that of rotting garbage when squashed.

And now these stink bugs, which caused $37 million dollars worth of damage last year, are returning with a mission to invade, after waking up from hibernation.

The only positive side to this phenomenon is that these stinky bugs are not dangerous, as they are neither poisonous nor do they transmit diseases as roaches and bedbugs do.

On to more bad news.

These stink bugs are winged, so they are harder to catch. Not only do they stink, they will also bite you and chomp away at your crops.

Homes and crop fields in Eastern states like Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were plagued by stinkbugs last year. Now the bugs have woken up, new eggs have hatched and matured, and they are ready to invade.

America should expect the little stinkers to enter our homes in late September, according to entomologists.

The stinkbugs thrive on warm environments and are spreading southeast. "If they get to Florida, it could be like the atomic bomb going off," said Douglas G. Luster, research leader for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, told The Washington Post.

Stink bug sightings have been reported in 33 states, even as far west as California. Each stinker can lay up to 30 eggs per nesting season.

The stink bugs originate from China, Japan and Korea and have been transported to the U.S. via cargo containers. Because they are fairly new to the continent, there are no natural predators to contain them.