FRITCH, TEXAS (CNN/KVII) - For more than a month, Fritch residents have been reporting something unusual. They say people are searching for locusts and grasshoppers alongside the road.
"I hear other people saying that they catch grasshoppers," said resident Frieda Maxwell. "I don't know why, I don't know what for, but that's just what I hear I've never seen them."
Since early June, residents said they have caught people catching locusts by the jarful. How are they catching them? They are using only a specialized critter catching rod and their hands.
"Me and my mom thought they were picking up trash, but, then we realized, they were picking up bugs, and it kind of freaked us out," said fifth grader Lauren Waldrop. "Totally gross, we don't like bugs."
For those catching the insects, their day starts early at Taylor's Convenience Store in Fritch. That's where, according to residents, they load up for the big bug hunt.
"During the warmer months they come in here quite often you know, usually on the weekends, and they get snacks and all this other kind of stuff," Maxwell said.
So what are these insects used to do? Some of the residents said they believe they are used for food. Fried grasshoppers are actually considered a delicacy in parts of the world.
Whatever they may be used for, it continues to confuse residents.
"I was creeped out, just, gross feeling. I just, don't, never knew anyone who picked up bugs, just for fun," said Waldrop.
