People in Oklahoma are dealing with an infestation of crickets. And while the swarm of the bugs might make your skin crawl, experts say it's completely natural. In Oklahoma towns, it happens every year, and is always a mess.
Thousands and thousands of crickets pile up on streets, sidewalks and porches, and hang off walls and windows of homes and businesses. While people might not like it, it's perfectly natural for all those crickets, who this time of year have one thing to do.
The signal to gather and mate comes from the change of seasons and the weather, which this year, dry in the spring and wet in the summer, was just right! It's good for business if you're an exterminator.
Calls for service are flooding in. At just one car dealership in Claremore, Oklahoma, exterminators found enough crickets to fill a thirty-pound bag. Some good news is that while people aren't happy, the rest of the animal kingdom is having a feast.
Micah Holmes from the Oklahoma Agriculture Department says, "birds eat them, frogs eat them, lizards, small mammals; they're a little protein, protein pack for animals."
Some even better news is that this year's cricket plague won't last forever. In a few weeks, when the weather gets colder, they'll all be gone, until the new generation comes to town next year.
