If You Hear Crunching On South Idaho Roadways It’s Just Crickets

Northern Nevada and southern Idaho are currently being invaded by massive, hideous insects. Every spring, millions of these high-hopping bugs take part in an annual exodus.

I did a lot of traveling in southern Idaho and northern Nevada over Father's Day weekend. We drove from Twin Falls, Idaho, to the historic, old west town of Virginia City, Nevada, on Sunday. I pulled off at a rest stop near Battle Mountain, and that's when I first noticed them.

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In the west, Mormon Crickets invade roadways in primarily Idaho, Nevada, and Utah every spring due to the fact they thrive in desert conditions. They are very large and have insane leaping abilities. We watched them for 10 minutes or so at the Nevada rest stop before my wife couldn't take anymore and ordered us back into the truck.

Mormon cricket invasions are getting worse every year, according to the University of Nevada, Reno. They feed off crops, which can amount to devastating losses in yield annually. Those who routinely drive southern Idaho roadways near the Nevada border will notice them now, particularly in the counties of Twin Falls and Owyhee.

The sound of rolling over these plump insects is unmistakably disgusting. They often completely cover sections of highways and from a distance look like darkened patches of the roadway. You can expect to see these crickets in abundance for a few more weeks until swarms subside and the heat sends them into hiding.