VIDEO: Nevada town invaded by cannibal Mormon crickets

A town in Nevada is being invaded by millions of cannibalistic Mormon crickets, which are completely blanketing roads and crawling up houses in the area. 

Videos shared on social media show the town of Elko, Nevada, completely covered by two-inch crickets, terrorizing residents with plague-like images. 

“You can see that they’re moving and crawling, and the whole road’s crawling and it just makes your skin crawl,” Elko resident Stephanie Garrett told SkyNews. “It’s just so gross.”

a plague of crickets in nevada
the end is nighpic.twitter.com/8sWhk9ErFp

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) June 14, 2023

The insects are not technically a grasshopper, despite looking like one. Instead, they are technically large shield-backed katydids that resemble them. They don’t fly but walk or hop instead. 

The Mormon cricket is harmless to humans, however, the sheer numbers of them in the town are making many residents choose to stay indoors. However, they have a significant impact on crops, which they use as their main food source, according to the University of Nevada. When the crickets run out of plants to feast on, they begin to eat each other. 

Elko Nevada is under attack. 🦗🦗Video credit: 📹cristenroses pic.twitter.com/6LZZG9rgoA

— Wow Terrifying (@WowTerrifying) June 13, 2023

“Not only do Mormon crickets eat plants causing damage or economic loss, their presence in doing so may be detrimental,” according to the University of Arizona. 

“Structures and hardscapes may be superficially stained with feces or crushed crickets, creating a clean-up cost to property managers of condominiums, parks, golf courses, etc., or homeowners,” the university added. 

Additionally, when crushed, the crickets give off a strong, smelly odor, much to the disgust of the town’s residents.  

Mormon, crickets invading Elko , Nevada pic.twitter.com/wsH7pwBqtV

— CarolynTheEvangelist™️ ✟ (@ViscontiCarolyn) June 13, 2023

The roads, which have been completely covered by the crickets, have become particularly dangerous for town residents who are driving. The thick blanket of insects creates a slick surface and has caused a number of car accidents. The Nevada Department of Transportation has been working to plow and sand the highways to prevent more accidents. 

“These signs on area highways are a reminder to TAKE IT SLOW when crickets make for potentially slick driving,” the department said in a Facebook post.

According to Jeff Knight, an Entomologist for the Nevada agriculture department, the Mormon crickets lay eggs in the summer, which then hatch in the spring. However, this year’s winter was unusually rainy, delaying the hatchlings. 

“The band of crickets in Elko [Nevada] is probably a thousand acres, and we’ve had bands even bigger than that,” he said. “The drought is probably what triggered them to start hatching. Once they do they have the upper hand, so their populations increase for several years then drop off.”