- It is an unusually busy mating season for the brown cricket in the Sooner State
- Cool, wet conditions have made this the worst cricket invasion in years
Not only does the field cricket have a noxious odor and shrieking chirp, it has a tendency toward cannibalism so killing them only makes things worse.
Residents say the insects tend to congregate and feed on carcasses of their dead brethren, but they're covering every street, sidewalk, and building so there's no way to avoid the occasional crunch.
They're everywhere: Unusually large swarms of crickets are invading Oklahoma, covering streets, sidewalks, and businesses like this McDonalds
Pile-up: The crickets are difficult to control, noisy, smelly and are pouring into towns across the Sooner State. Instagram user furiousd caught this particularly nasty pile of cricket carcasses
'I think we are going to see a little more before it gets any better,' Oklahoma State University's Brian Jervis told KTUL.
Experts say weather could be the cause of the usually large swarm.
'These outbreaks seem to occur after periods of prolonged dry weather in spring and early summer followed by rainfall in July and August,' said Rick Grantham, director of the Plant Disease and Insect Diagnostic Lab in Oklahoma State University. 'Extensive soil cracking may be an important factor.'
The crickets lay their eggs and crawl out en masse once it's time for mating.
And though the creatures can be tough to get rid of, experts suggest a few tricks that might ease the problem somewhat.
'Crickets commonly spend the daylight hours hiding in dark, damp areas. Eliminating piles of bricks, stones, wood or other debris around the home will help reduce numbers,' said Grantham. 'aerosols applied to baseboards, door thresholds and cracks and crevices where crickets hide will normally control them.'
In addition to incessant chirping that can last deep into the night and early morning, some residents say the crickets even stink.
'After a while they all start dying and it gets to get this rotted meat smell,' one resident told KFOR
'I will not be sleeping tonight': The crickets stick to walls, crunch underfoot wherever residents walk, and hang from walls and window screens, making just looking outside a little bit creepy
They eventually die back, but that won't be for another eight weeks or so.
'I think we are going to see a little more before it gets any better,' Jervis said.
In the meantime, all residents are left to do is complain and post nauseating photos to their social media streams.
Takeover: 'Crickets have taken over weatherford!!!' writes Instagram user rscarbrough13
Creepy crawly! The bugs are teeming in Oklahoma and the problem could continue for the next eight weeks
'When I look out my window, this is what I see. Needless to say I will not be sleeping tonight,' writes c_daaber721 with a photo of her cricket-covered window screen.
'A plague has arrived in OKC,' writes colleendamager.
Gypsyroseb asked, 'Crickets, anyone?'
User xnebulousx may have siad it best: 'Large amounts of crickets are gross!'
I love crickets. They sing in the night. What are they telling us coming in so huge number? It is not the first time that something like that happens. It happened in USA some many years ago and one man propose to start a menu with crickets in his restaurant. Crickets are protein. Perfect with a paleo diet.