By Ray Birch
ELKO, Nevada—What does a credit union do when its offices are swarmed by millions of crickets?
According to Elko FCU, it tries not to get too “bugged” about it.
That sums up the approach the $264-million CU has taken in a town that has been overrun by a swarm of Mormon crickets that have become a plague across northern Nevada.
Technically not crickets—they are katydids—the insects are named after Mormon migrants around the Great Salt Lake, experienced invasions of the bugs, which can stay dormant for anywhere from a single year to 11 years,.
This year’s invasion is causing crop damage, making roads slick after they've been crushed, and leaving behind a dreadful stench after they die.
The situation had become so bad in Elko that a Cricket Patrol was created in the town of 25,000, which uses leaf blowers and brooms to clear paths for individuals.
Break Out the Blower
Elko FCU CEO Todd Sorenson described bad it had gotten for everyone.
“There were times there were so many crickets it looked like the entire parking lot at our main office was moving—incredible,” he told CUToday.info late last week. “I am pulling into our parking lot now, and I see we’re trying to blow the lot clean with leaf blowers. Right now, it’s more debris left by the crickets, as they have thankfully pretty much migrated away. I'm glad they're almost gone.”
Residents in Elko have tried to use chemicals, pressurized washers and hot water mixed with bleach to remove the insects—even using chemicals and the hard spray of the washers to fight them off.
Sorenson emphasized there is nothing to do about the crickets other than just wait them out. He said poisoning them just brings more crickets, since they feed on their dead.
“It just makes it even worse,” Sorenson said.
‘Crawling the Walls’
Todd Sorenson
A recent transplant to Elko, Sorenson said he was initially shocked by what he was seeing.
“All of a sudden here come these crickets and, apparently it's a phenomenon that happens periodically,” said Sorenson. “We just have basically tolerated it, as we come in and out of our branches. They'll crawl up on your outside walls and doors, and you have to certainly be careful at your entrances to make sure they don't get in. They really do not come in much. It's doable.”
A video shot by Elko FCU of the crickets in their parking lot can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/CUtoday.info
As far as adjusting to the critters, the CU has increased its maintenance around its two buildings—‘just to make sure that things look presentable and as clean they can,” said Sorenson.
The best thing coming out of the invasion, the CEO said, it is demonstrated that even plagues of Biblical proportions cannot stop members from visiting their credit union.
“Thankfully, most of our members have been in this area a long time, and while I don't want to say they're used to this, because the crickets don’t come out every year, they are not surprised or shocked by this,” Sorenson said. “I was talking to one of the members of my management team yesterday and he commented that what we experienced recently is not the worst Elko has seen from the crickets.”
Offers of Help
EFCU is also receiving support from the credit union community outside of Elko.
“The president of our credit union league, Diana Dykstra, recently emailed me and said she’d just watched the news clip about Elko and the crickets, and wanted to make sure that all was OK. She said what she saw looked horrifying,” Sorenson recalled.
But it really hasn’t been, emphasized Sorenson, who restated that what the CU has done to address the situation is step up maintenance of its locations. Sorenson said its main branch on Mountain City Highway has been the hardest hit by the insect invasion.
With the crickets almost gone, now is the time to power wash the buildings, said Sorenson.
“There's been millions of these things, so we decided we were not going to do any major cleaning of our buildings until they are gone. So, power washing the sides of the offices, the sidewalks and certainly the parking lots,” he said.
Caution, Road Slippery (And It’s Not Ice)
Parking lots and roads have also been victims of the invasion. As news reports and signs posted around times caution, the crickets when crushed in a large number create a kind of “oil slick” that can be dangerous to drive over.
“Yes, caution signs are posted on the roadways and especially at intersections,” Sorenson explained.
Mormon crickets covering Elko FCU's main office parking lot.
Sorenson emphasized the invasion is more concerning to “outsiders” who visit Elko than it is to residents.
“We had some consultants out here recently and they were horrified by what they saw around our buildings and in our parking lot,” he said. “They told us they heard about the situation, but said they still could not believe what they were seeing.”
And vision isn’t the only sense affected by the bugs. When crushed, the crickets create what has been termed by many news reports as a “horrible stench.” Sorenson agreed, but said the smell has not been a major issue inside the credit union’s locations.
Sorenson said some people still find the crickets “terrifying.”
“We had two employees who have been significantly impacted by this,” he said.
Did All That Could be Done
In retrospect, he said there is really nothing the credit union could have done to prepare for the invasion, nor will it take any preparatory steps when it’s time for the insects to eventually return in perhaps another decade.
“Again, members thankfully forgave us about the situation. But they know about the crickets. We are in the high desert of Northern Nevada and our communities have been awesome. They have a heavy history in ranching and agriculture and have been here for many, many years,” he said.
Asked if he would have reconsidered his decision to take the CEO job less than two years ago if he had known about the bugs, Sorenson kidded, saying, “It’s just something we joke about now.”