Mormon Crickets swarm over highways. BUG GUTS everywhere!

[John E Davies]

 

We encountered these nasties for the first time driving from Eureka NV to Elko today, the pavement was literally covered with them in places. For one section the highway department set up an electronic sign “Use caution road slick next 15 miles”. Talk about gross! Here is one (these two images are not mine):

This is how the road looked:

“Mormon Crickets pose a safety threat because they can create unsafe road conditions. They get on the roads and they are cannibalistic, so they get out there, they get squished, more come to eat those and they get squished and the roads can actually become slick. We've had accidents reported," said Jeff Knight, entomologist with the Department of Agriculture.”

https://mynews4.com/amp/news/local/nda-confirms-morman-crickets-are-hatching-earlier-than-ever

I am glad that the Stone Stomper and extra mudflaps under the frame caught most of the rough crusty carcasses:

 

A little got past the SS mesh and onto the front corners of the hull:

It is supposed to rain tonight, hopefully enough to soften the stuff up so I can remove it easily without scratching the gelcoat. It feels like 40 grit sandpaper 😳 Otherwise it is off to the car wash.

Yuck. Any comments?

John Davies

Spokane WA

[johnwen]

Hmmmm...think I'll stay away from there 🙂 

[John E Davies]

This is hilarious.

https://azratpack.com/mormon-crickets-us-50-the-loneliest-highway/

BTW, the general feeling about Nevada seems to be that it is endless desert and sagebrush. It could not be further from the truth, it is glorious, full of magnificent mountain ranges, but it is very remote and definitely worth a visit if you love being away from everybody. We are on our sixth day here and it has been quite rewarding. Ely NV itself is a pit, but the fully working Nevada Northern Railway  is incredible.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[topgun2]

11 hours ago, John E Davies said:

Yuck. Any comments?

If it doesn't rain - try some of THIS STUFF.

Bill

p.s.  Another old motorcycle trick - particularly for those places that have rubber components in or around them like your mud flaps is - the night before you plan to wash the vehicle liberally spray it with virtually any "protectorant" (even Armor-All will do since you are going to wash it off anyway).  Then the next day wash as normal.  The protectorant softens up the critters and after washing still leaves a nice appearance on the rubber without turning "brown" over time.

[bugeyedriver]

Well, that's about as gross as it gets!  gazillions of cannibalistic, squishy, slime creating, Ollie splattering critters ambling across the road.  Yuck, just yuck.

On the other hand, it is not all as bad as it seems.  Should you break down amidst the infestation, you will not want for food.  According to that all knowing source, Wikipedia, "Native American tribes historically hunted and ate the wingless Mormon cricket as a staple protein, and today Thai bars and restaurants serve deep fried crickets with beer. Additionally, over 80% of the world today incorporates insects into various cuisines."

Break out the griddle . . . 

[SeaDawg]

47 minutes ago, bugeyedriver said:

Thai bars and restaurants serve deep fried crickets with beer

Not sure I could drink enough beer to make me want to eat those....

Yuk!

[routlaw]

Wow! Yuck!

[docron]

Yuck indeed!