You’re not going to like this one, we’re sorry to say! Mormon crickets are currently invading Western Colorado, and it’s not pretty! These critters can’t fly, but they hop and swarm in large groups, and along the way, they eat crops and other plants. Read on to learn more about this insect infestation that’s happening right now in Colorado.

Mormon crickets. Yikes! These insects are not really crickets; rather, they are katydids, but they look like crickets, so people called them that and it stuck. They got the other part of their name because they are often a problem in Utah, where there are many people of the Mormon faith.
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Every year, Mormon crickets hatch once the ground temperature reaches forty degrees - which was late this year. Some years, there are more than others.
Bob Henry, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This is a very big year.
When they hatch, they all hatch at once. Near Meeker and Craig, they have started to take over.
Wikimedia Commons Brian Head, UT

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Mormon crickets are red and brown in color. They often land on roads, and as cars drive over them, they leave blood-like streaks behind.
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They also poop everywhere. You may find some Mormon cricket excrement on your home's siding. You'll have to spray it off with a power washer.
These creatures will travel 25 to 50 miles in one season and may stay in one spot for several days while they devour food that they find.
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They cause major damage to the plants they eat. In Meeker, Maybell, Dinosaur, and Craig, local pest control workers put out lines of poison to stop them.
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Some local farmers want the local government to spray the land with pesticides to combat them as they have done in the past.
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As you can imagine, a Mormon cricket invasion can be devastating to local farmers. But, at the same time, pesticides are harmful to all living things. It's quite a dilemma. Hopefully, the Mormon crickets will just leave most people's crops alone.

This year’s infestation of Mormon crickets is happening right now, so if you have a garden, cover your plants to help protect them. Hopefully, this infestation will pass soon!

To learn more about insects in Colorado, here’s a list of 12 other creepy bugs that live in The Centennial State! And if you need ideas about what to pack on your Colorado hikes to protect yourself from the elements (including bugs!), then check out our official OIYS hiking packing list.

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