For a little more than a week residents of multiple central Texas cities, most notably San Antonio, have found themselves in the thick of a massive area-wide cricket invasion. Cricket invasions are an annual event in Texas, but even the oldest residents cannot recall ever having witnessed a cricket invasion that had been as large as the one that is currently overtaking San Antonio and Austin. Those living outside of central Texas do not need to go far to catch a glimpse of the cricket hoards in the state, as Facebook and Twitter are being flooded with photographs showing thousands of crickets covering tables, counters and even people within local restaurants and other businesses.
Homeowners are posting pictures of their cricket-covered furniture and appliances, as well as the extraordinary number of cricket pests covering the external walls of houses. Some restaurants in central Texas have closed due to the off-putting abundance of crickets that have accumulated around businesses, and buildings on the University of Texas San Antonio campus are also being invaded by thousands of the chirping insects, prompting students to skip class. On campus, every floor of nearly every building contains countless crickets covering the floors and walls, and administrative officials are continually posting reassuring messages to Twitter claiming that certain areas of the campus will be professionally cleared of all crickets within 24 hours.
While the current cricket apocalypse in San Antonio is keeping pest control professionals in the city busy, local cleaning companies are also struggling to address the overwhelming cricket presence within the homes and local businesses. Since the invasion started more than a week ago, local cleaning companies have been flooded with professional house cleaning requests from residents. While removing such a massive amount of crickets from homes is not easy for cleaning crews, some employees claim that taking a vacuum to the pests is the best way to address their presence. Since chickens love to snack on crickets, a local elementary school is addressing the cricket crisis naturally by allowing a group of seven chickens to freely feed on the insects around the building.
Have you ever lived in a town or city that was invaded by a massive amount of insects?
