MILLARD COUNTY, Utah — They're back! Pesky Mormon crickets have recently been spotted on and near the freeway that runs through the small town of Fillmore in central Utah.
Farmers whose fields are threatened by the bugs will see the most damage from the infestation. Drivers will see them on Interstate 15 and need to watch out for slick spots and swarms, while local homeowners and business owners are trying to deal with the problem right now, as well.
Jed Christensen is a local homeowner and business owner. On Wednesday, he said he had to hire someone to come to his business located in the north side of town to spray for the problem.
"They’re just gross, and I don’t want my customers having to deal with them," he said. "I sprayed last year, and yeah, they’re back, and to deter them as much as I can, I had a company come out and spray."
Town overrun by thousands of Mormon crickets hatching early:
Five years ago, FOX 13 News was there when local farmers were dealing with an infestation.
Mark Nelson, a professor based out of Utah State University's Extension office in Beaver, said the bugs are a real problem for ranchers and farmers in this area.
"We have to come in and try to control the Mormon crickets," he said. "The majority of these crickets are coming off of federal grounds, grounds that are managed by the Forest Service and the BLM, and because of that, the ranchers are very limited on what kinds of chemicals they can use."
Christensen said growing up in Millard, he remembers the bugs getting really bad at times.
"I remember as a little boy walking down Corn Creek Canyon... sprinting through the thick patches because we were scared to walk through them," he said. "We were coming down the canyon road and it looked like we were running in water. They would just make way for us, so yeah, I’ve dealt with this before."
Nelson said they started to pop up last year, and they usually build and just get worse.
"This is a little early for Mormon Crickets, so the fact that they’ve come out so early, we think, will cause more problems," the professor said.
And it's not just for farmers. Drivers should watch out for slick spots on the road in that area and swarms that can congregate around the crickets' carcasses on the roads.
Utah pioneers spoke of infestations of these bugs destroying their crops until the "miracle of the gulls," when seagulls swooped in to eat the bugs and save their crops.
Nelson said they're hoping pesticides and baiting can help manage the problem, and he suggests local farmers reach out to the USU Extension to learn more about subsidized programs now being offered by the Utah Department of Agriculture to deal with the bugs.
