ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — As the leaves begin to turn, everything from bears to bugs start looking for somewhere to settle down for the winter. Many across the country, they’re most likely to encounter the brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive species of stink bug found in 46 states. According to Brian Eshenaur, an Invasive Species Specialist for Cornell's Integrated Pest Management Program, they’re harmless but they can cause quite a stink.  “They're called stink bugs for a reason. They will release a foul odor when they're disturbed as a defense mechanism. This makes them less attractive to predators that might go after them.” For us humans, it can leave a bit of an odor on us, or in some cases, even cause a mild allergic reaction where the stink bug liquid makes contact with the skin. If you do find them indoors, it’s best to use a vacuum to try and remove them as you’ll have a lower risk of crushing them and also releasing the source of the bug’s namesake from it. Just be sure to also dispose of the contents of your vacuum in a sealed space and bring it out of the house after. “The good news is they don't fight, they don't sting, they don't really don't do anything that's harmful inside the house. But they can sometimes release a little bit of a stain where there are large numbers of them. You can see that. That's easily removed with soap and water,” said Eshenaur.  Eshenaur also said that for pets, there isn’t any danger if they interact with the stinkbugs and even if they do manage to eat it, they probably won’t swallow it either.  “There's not any danger for our pets or anyone from the stink bugs. Yeah, they can be a nuisance and they'll probably not be palatable, so they probably won't eat them.” Keeping them out is simple. Just make sure you seal up any cracks by windows, doors leading outside, the attic, the basement, etc. With the coldest months of the year not far from now, you might want to get on that anyway.  One of the best ways to exclude them from getting into our house in the first place is to look at sealing up any gaps that your house may have and that could include around windows,” said Eshenaur. “If you still have an air conditioner unit in a window, make sure that the area around that is sealed because they're really good at detecting areas where heat is coming out of the house and the look as that for a place to enter.” Other pests, like the Spotted Lanternfly, are also active around this time of year. In the case of the lanternfly, it is beginning to lay eggs as that insect prepares for the change in the seasons. Making sure you don’t move wood or other objects with egg masses on them to other areas is key to helping to stop the spread of this invasive pest that poses a much bigger risk than stinkbugs.  “At this time of year, they're going to start to lay their egg masses and it's the egg masses that survive until next May when they hatch. The spotted lantern fly will be with us until the first hard freeze when they get killed back and it's at this time of year when the spotted lantern fly are moving so it's a good idea to take a look around because we might be seeing them in new areas,” said Eshenaur.  “The egg masses look like just a muddy patch that is about two inches long and about an inch wide.” If you do happen to see either an adult spotted lanternfly or one of these egg masses it's imperative you document and report it to the Cornell Integrated Pest Management program, and then promptly crush the insect or destroy the egg mass.