ELKHART, Ind. (AP) _ An invasion of smelly insects is keeping Elkhart County pest-control businesses hopping.

Business owners and residents say this is the worst year so far for the brown marmorated stink bug. Some homeowners in Granger are reporting 30 stink bugs a day in their houses.

Exterminator Roger Shipley says the insect also known as the East Asian stink bug first showed up in the U.S. in the late 1990s. Its population has been growing ever since.

Shipley says the bugs secrete their odor when they are stressed. He says homeowners who find the bugs should suck them up with a vacuum and immediately dispose of the bag.

Residents who want to prevent a problem are urged to block off entry points to their houses.