You’ve probably seen Hollywood movies featuring scenes where large swarms of insects crawl across city streets, sending chills down the viewers’ spines. What you might have thought was purely fictional is actually happening in some places in Nevada, USA, including the city of Elko.
Streets Overrun by Insects Like a Horror Movie
According to information published by the Daily Mail on June 17, residents of Elko, Nevada, are currently enduring a distressing time as their crops are being devastated by millions of Mormon crickets.
The streets have become reminiscent of horror movie scenes, becoming dangerously slippery as countless insects crawl everywhere, even covering walkways. Drivers who are not cautious can easily find themselves in accidents.
The streets resemble scenes from horror movies.
Videos recorded on-site show the Mormon crickets—an insect about 5 cm long, brown in color—scattered everywhere, from the streets to buildings, walls, fences, and trash cans, instilling fear in the local population.
This insect can be found everywhere, including trash cans.
Experts from the University of Nevada, Reno, explain that despite being called Mormon crickets, they are not actually crickets but belong to the katydid family and resemble grasshoppers. They are named after the Mormon settlers in Utah. They cannot fly but can jump or crawl. While completely harmless to humans, these insects are a nightmare for those suffering from entomophobia.
Residents Employ Various Measures to Cope; Some Fear Going Outside
In light of the current situation in Elko, many residents have reported that they have had to stay indoors, postponing some tasks to avoid going outside due to their fear of the Mormon crickets.
“When we look outside, we see that all the walls here are covered with them. It’s terrifying,” said Colette Reynolds, a local resident, in an interview with KLAS news.
“You can see them crawling all over the streets, it’s unsettling and gives you goosebumps, it’s horrific,” added Stephanie Garrett.
Chilling images at a hospital in Nevada invaded by Mormon crickets.
Meanwhile, those who are braver have had to take all possible measures to sweep these insects off their doorsteps. A spokesperson for Northeast Nevada Regional Hospital stated that the hospital had to use brooms and leaf blowers to clear paths for patients to enter the buildings.
The Nevada Department of Transportation has also had to implement some cleaning measures to remove the insects, making the roads less slippery.
They had to use leaf blowers to clear the walkways.
“Cars are driving over these insects, and some are eating each other, then getting run over again, leaving the roads covered with their bodies, making it slippery. The problem worsens with storms and rain, making the roads even more slick. We’ve recorded many accidents caused by this issue,” stated Jeff Knight, an entomologist with the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
Close-up image of Mormon crickets.
It is known that Knight has been dealing with issues related to Mormon crickets in Nevada since 1976 and has witnessed about 40 outbreaks like the current one since then.
According to Knight, the recent drought in the western United States may have accelerated their egg-laying process, allowing them to proliferate rapidly, as Mormon crickets thrive in dry and hot climates. Consequently, the state authorities have begun spraying insecticides and growth regulators along major highways, but no significant results have yet been observed.
Interestingly, around this time last year, Oregon faced a similar issue with swarms of Mormon crickets and grasshoppers. These insects not only consume various crops and plants but also resort to cannibalism when protein is scarce.
