Oregon Pushes to Eliminate Swarms of Mormon Crickets in the State to Prevent Further Crop Damage

Jordan Maley, an Oregon State University Extension Agent, and April Aamodt, a resident of the small Columbia River town of Arlington, are both involved in the lookout for Mormon crickets in Oregon to prevent the giant insects from further destroying crops.

Since Mormon crickets can grow bigger than 2 inches (5 centimeters), they are not hard to spot. They are not new to the state and are even considered native to western North America. Their presence has been recorded since the 1800s, when they ruined the fields of Mormon settlers in Utah. In recent years, outbreaks have worsened and Oregon has decided to fight back.

Oregon's Plan to Eliminate Mormon Crickets

The Oregon state has been discussing the suppression program of Mormon crickets and grasshoppers in the state, with an estimated budget of $6.2 million for the program. According to Phys.org, it is part of the efforts of the state and federal authorities to deal with the outbreaks of insects that have hit Montana to Nevada.

Arlington has seen the largest Mormon cricket outbreak in 2017 that was not seen since the 1940s. The roads were filled with huge squashed insects that damaged nearby wheat crops. Some have described the scene as truly biblical. Aamodt said that she was there when that happened and tried her best to mow and kill the insects.

In 2021, the Oregon agriculture officials estimated that 10 million acres in 18 counties were damaged by grasshoppers and Mormon crickets. The new Oregon initiative allows private landowners, like farmers and ranchers, to request that the Oregon Department of Agriculture survey their land for insects and recommend chemical treatment.

The state recommends using the aerial application of diflubenzuron, an insecticide that inhibits the development of nymphs to become adults. Landowners can request reimbursement of up to 75% of the cost.

 ODA's Eastern Oregon field office and grasshopper program coordinator entomologist Todd Adams said that as of mid-June, they have received 122 survey requests and sent 31 recommendations for approximately 40,000 acres (16,187 hectares). They remind the landowners to act quickly before the nymphs become adults, as that would be too late already.

However, some environmental groups have opposed aerial spraying of pesticides across large swaths of land in eliminating the insects that have become pests in fields. They want the agency to adopt a more holistic approach to solving the outbreaks. For now, landowners hope that the new program will bring support to them.

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Mormon Crickets

Mormon crickets (Anabrus simplex) are well-known wingless species of shield-backed katydid that is endemic in North America, according to Britannica Encyclopedia. Shield-backed katydids are any insects that belong to the family Tettigoniidae and order Orthoptera, which looks like crickets. They got their name from their enlarged protonum that extends to the abdomen.

Like most shield-backed katydid, Mormon crickets can grow from 0.7 to 2 inches (18 to 50 mm) in length and are brown or black, and only a few species are green. Although they are flightless, they can still migrate to places by jumping.

In 1848, Salt Lake City, Deseret (which later on became Utah) were visited with swarms of Mormon crickets. It was so destructive that it became historic. The crops were saved by the arrival of a flock of seagulls long before insecticides were a thing.

But modern times have used insecticides and insecticidal baits to control the population of Mormon crickets that have been migrating with coulee crickets to other fields.

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