An invasion is coming, and you may need to do some work around your house this weekend to make sure you can keep it out.

Experts believe the next few weeks will see the rise of the brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive species known for destroying millions of dollars in crops since its arrival to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. It gets its name from scent glands on its abdomen and thorax that release a pungent odor when its scared or crushed, according to Penn State University.

"An important part of the seasonal biology of the brown marmorated stink bug is its movement to protected places for the winter," Dr. Douglas Pfeiffer, a Virginia Tech entomologist, told Entomology Today.

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Sometimes those "protected places" are trees. Other times, it's your home. In one extreme example, a man in western Maryland counted 26,000 of the critters hiding in his home during a six-month period, according to University of Maryland professor of entomology Michael Raupp, who is also known as "The Bug Guy."

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Stink bugs won't hurt you, but they have massive appetites. A recent study found they feast on as many as 170 plants, from fields of sweet corn and soybeans to the sunflowers and tomatoes in your backyard garden.

Researchers have found the pests in at least 40 states. Although the most destructive damage to crops so far has been in the mid-Atlantic region, experts in the Pacific Northwest are warning "of a potential infestation that could foul homes and damage orchards and vineyards," according to the Mail Tribune out of southern Oregon.

Since the brown marmorated stink bug has only been in the U.S. since the mid-90s, scientists are still finding out more about the insect's patterns and nature, particularly during the winter. But any new research will be handicapped this season because of the partial government shutdown.

"Just when entomologists are getting set to take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity to better understand the brown marmorated stink bug, federal research funding is put in park," Pfeiffer tells Entomology Today.

(PHOTOS: See Straight Into This Home)

In a video The Bug Guy created for the University of Maryland, he walks through several ways you can keep these "diabolically clever" insects out of your home. First, make sure you seal off any cracks that lead into your home, whether they're on the porch or inside an attached shed or attic. You can also buy a stink bug trap for your garden. Whatever you do, don't crush them, or else they'll release the ugly odor that gives them their name.

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