Kicker: Cricket on the street

MARY REICHARD, HOST: The town of Elko, Nevada, has a problem. They’ve been invaded by Mormon crickets. Millions of them.

KSL NEWSCAST: The Mormon Crickets, they have converged on this community. They are in the shrubs, they are in the street, they are climbing the walls.

On their own, the bugs are pretty harmless, but a swarm can damage crops, mess with ecosystems, and make roads slippery--creating a safety hazard for humans.

Steve Burrows works at the local hospital. Audio here from KSL TV.

STEVE BURROWS: We had people out there with leaf blowers, with brooms. At one point we even did have a tractor with a snowplow on it just to try to push the piles of crickets and keep them moving on their way.

Yikes! Predators who like to eat these little guys include birds, rodents, and even coyotes. But with so many to eat, bellies fill up fast.

Some people use poisons on them, but that’s gross. Piles of crickets. Not a good scent.

These Mormon crickets don’t fly, so physical barriers can work— if they’re at least two feet high and made out of something smooth and slippery. Some people say loud rock music on boom boxes works.

I’m not sure what’s worse in that scenario.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Me either. Loud music and things that crunch under foot? Sounds like a bad block party to me.

REICHARD: Yeah, I’d stay home. It’s The World and Everything in It.

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