Nature & Environment

Insect invasion: millions of Mormon crickets descend on Utah

By T.K. Randall
May 19, 2025 ·  14 comments

Image: Mormon Cricket
Credit: Bureau of Land Management / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) Anyone with a particular fear or distaste for large insects might want to give Fillmore, Tooele and other parts of central Utah a wide berth - at least for a while.

Known as Mormon crickets, these highly problematic pests cause headaches not only for local residents and businesses but also for farmers, owing to their penchant for feasting on crops.

Motorists on Interstate 15 have found themselves driving straight through huge swarms of the critters, creating oil-like slicks of their remains that can, in turn, lead to accidents.

In some areas, snow plows have been brought out to try to clear the massive piles of insect carcasses. Elsewhere, local businesses have been forced to call in pest control experts and farmers have been left helpless in the face of losing entire crops to the invaders.

For some, however, such swarms are nothing new.

"I remember walking down Corn Creek Canyon as a little boy, sprinting through the thick patches because we were scared to walk through them," local business owner Jed Christensen told Fox 13.

"We were coming down the canyon road, and it looked like we were running through water. They would just part for us. So yeah, I've dealt with this before."

It is believed that a particularly dry winter, coupled with the current mild weather, is responsible for this year's infestation.


Source: Fox 13 Now | Comments (14)

Tags: Crickets