A swarm of insects is causing a small nuisance a few miles east of Lakeview in Southern Oregon, but so far, it’s not a big problem.

It’s the first time Mormon crickets – actually a type of katydid – have been reported in Lake County, although not the first time the region has been swarmed by the highly mobile insects.

In recent years, rangeland grasshopper and Mormon cricket infestations have become an annual problem across much of the Eastern side of the state.

This year, local people and federal government officials are reporting swarms of Mormon crickets on public and private lands along Highway 140 near the tiny unincorporated community of Adel.

The insects are not causing major damage, according to a report in The Capital Press.

But they are raising a stink, of sorts.

So many crickets have died while on the road that they’re making roads slicker and the air odorous.

“The crickets are causing nuisance conditions where they are creating road hazards due to large densities over the road and associated odor from crickets that have been run over [by motor vehicles],” said Joey Nikirk, a Bureau of Land Management spokesperson.

The insect tends to want to seek the heat radiating from asphalt roads, Nikirk said.

“They are also attracted to protein and salt sources [from] other dead crickets on the road surface,” Nikirk said.

The Mormon cricket is native to Oregon and the Western United States.

Its common name dates back to the mid-1800s, when it invaded crops tended by Mormon Settlers in Utah, according to Washington State University.

Years with warmer and drier-than-usual weather can create the ideal conditions for the insect’s population to explode and for it to act more like an invasive pest.

The cricket can vigorously devour fields of wheat, alfalfa, barley, and common garden vegetables, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In 2021, Oregon had one of the worst infestations in decades. State agriculture officials estimated over 10 million acres of rangeland across 18 counties had outbreaks.

That was bad news for farmers because the insects tend to munch and decimate fields of grains and grass like alfalfa that go to feed livestock.

To prevent that this year, the Bureau of Land Management’s district office in Lakeview is working with the USDA to treat the swarms.

Usually, the agency uses a diflubenzuron-based chemical.

That insecticide inhibits nymphs from maturing into adults.

Environmental groups have opposed the use of that chemical and even sued the federal government, accusing the USDA of harming rangeland ecosystems and other insects such as bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, as well as aquatic invertebrates.

A Portland court eventually found the federal government agency violated environmental laws by failing to consider alternative pest management methods.

In the case of this year’s Lake County swarms, federal officials used a carbaryl-based bait – a chemical that disrupts the insect’s nervous system.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/16/mormon-cricket-swarms-cause-a-stink-in-lake-county/