Invasion of Mormon crickets
The invaders are everywhere, there are 75 invaders for every human in town. They are everywhere: outside at the door, on the windows, all over the grass and garden. They are crawling over every surface. Elko, Nevada is being attacked again, You would think folks would get used to it, but you never do. “When you’re inside the house it sounds like it’s raining because they just randomly let go of wherever they’re hanging onto and drop.” Not only do they climb all over you, they defecate everywhere and because there are so many it makes a smelly mess. Then the creatures are cannibals if they do not get enough green stuff to eat. They leave half eaten carcasses wherever they drop and that adds to the pristine desert air in Elko. These are the so called “Mormon crickets” are swarming the town of Elko, covering roads and houses – even blocking hospital access. “Just to get patients into the hospital we had people out there with leaf blowers, with brooms,” Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital’s Steve Burrows. “At one point we even had a tractor with a snowplow on it just to push the piles of crickets and move them on their way,” he said.
Charles Carmichael the owner of Battle Born Pest Control, tries not to answer work calls on Sundays. But residents of Elko, Nev., have desperately needed his services, as lawns, roads and homes are covered in millions of creepy, crawly bugs known as Mormon crickets. “It is basically like that movie [The] Birds, but instead of birds, it’s crickets.” “I’m getting probably six to seven calls a day. I’ve been working every night until 7:30, 8:00 at night, you know, until I just can’t go anymore.”
The invaders are technically not crickets but shield-backed katydids. The bugs earned their moniker when members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first encountered them in the mid-1800s. They were dubbed crickets because of their chirping noise. Charles estimates they’re “about the size Shaquille O’Neal’s thumb.” The best way to deal with them is lure them away from homes in the first place with poisoned bait. But once they’re knocking on your door, so to speak, there’s not much you can do except spray them with bug repellant. He’s seen the bugs leap off of the walls “for no apparent reason” and onto unsuspecting residents. “I’ve seen kids scream bloody murder because they’re terrified to get out of the car,” he said.
They’re not poisonous or otherwise dangerous to humans, but they can pose serious damage to agriculture or people’s homes, lawns and gardens. “They’ll definitely chew your grass down to the nub,” he warned. “I’ve seen them chew paint off … the wood siding on the house.” Charles says they’ll likely remain a regular feature until August of this year and come back each summer for at least five years.
Don’t let them bug you
I just made a joke about the EU’s decision to allow insects in food.
And what did I hear…[crickets].
Politics is the most accurate word in English:
It’s made up of two parts.
1 – Poly – meaning many
2 – Ticks – blood sucking insects.
Me and my friend were out camping in a thick tropical forest. As we set camp for the night, we were being swarmed by huge mosquitoes. My friend, being a person who was brought up in a posh neighborhood, had never seen such an insect and was terrified. After having a hard time spraying mosquito repellent inside the camp and our sleeping bags, we slid into our sleeping bags. He ranted about those flying creatures and thought they would suck the life out of him. As I was about to fall asleep, he let out a scream. I saw fireflies buzzing around us. When I asked him what had bothered him, he replied,” The mosquitoes are back again! This time they have brought torches with them!”
July 23rd Birthdays
1923 – Estelle Getty, 1997 – Danielle Bradbury, 1971 – Alison Krauss, 1971 – Charisma Carpenter
1972 – Marlan Wayans, 1990 – Daniel Radcliffe, 1954 – Walter Payton, 1962 – Woody Harrelson