Thousands of Mormon Crickets Descend on Nevada Town: ‘The Smell Is Extremely Bad’

Nope, that isn't the sound of the thousands of Elko, Nevada, denizens standing around, popping packing bubbles: an infestation of Mormon crickets has the town sounding like a popcorn maker.

Officials confirm the town has been overrun by the flightless insects, which are native to the Great Basin. In fact, the streets and parking lots of Elko are actually crawling with millions of the ground-dwelling bugs.

That incessant popping heard 'round town is the sound of the shield-backed katydids exploding beneath car and truck tires.

"It's like the popcorn noise underneath your tires, then the smell is extremely bad," said Tyeona Damon, who lives near Elko, before getting oddly specific. "It smells like dealfish."

She spoke to FOX 13 in Utah, and said the pesky critters have been "impacting my race car driving, because it's so slick, so to have crickets ruining it is really awkward."

Experts believe the Mormon crickets — so named for destroying the crops of Mormon settlers in Salt Lake back in the mid-1800s — hatched early this year, leading to the sudden boom in numbers. Drought can also lead to outbreaks, which can persist for years.

The insects eat native, herbaceous perennials, grasses, shrubs, and cultivated forage crops, reducing feed for grazing wildlife and livestock.

In such large numbers, feeding Mormon crickets can speed up soil erosion, depleting much-needed nutrients that could cripple cropland ecosystems. A stagnation in water quality is also a common trademark of mormon cricket infestations.

Representatives from Nevada's Department of Agriculture will soon be visiting Elko to speak to residents.

Elko has a special webpage established for the Mormon cricket issue.

At present, the mormon crickets are making noise in six Nevada counties. Utah officials fear similar infestations in the western part of that state.