Several media outlets are reporting about the billions of cicadas that will surface starting early May. According to NBC News:
The winged insects are expected to appear across the Midwest and Southeast starting early May, in a double emergence of two different broods of periodical cicadas. These bugs spend a fixed number of years underground before coming to the surface to take part in a raucous mating ritual.
This year’s emergence is expected to be unusually large, with some experts estimating that more than a trillion cicadas could blanket parts of the country where the two broods overlap.
Cicadas are harmless to humans, though some people find the sheer number of insects and their loud mating songs a nuisance.
For bug enthusiasts, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the two cicada broods emerging together, given that it last occurred in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was president.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
According the the American Kennal Club, your dog will be fine if they eat a few cicadas, but you should prevent them from eating a large amount. Dogs that overindulge in cicadas may encounter mild to serious GI upset, choke on the stiff wings or hard exoskeleton or suffer allergic reactions.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that you don’t need to spray because:
Pesticides are generally ineffective in keeping cicadas away. So many cicadas emerge at once that more will inevitably move in. Spraying also doesn’t make sense because cicadas are generally harmless. Applying pesticides to control cicadas may harm other organisms, including animals that eat cicadas. Pesticides can be harmful to other non-target, beneficial insects. Pets and people may also be unnecessarily exposed to pesticides.
The EPA goes on to say that there are many benefits to cicadas. They are a good source of food for birds and some predators, they aerate yards which helps water get into the ground and as they decompose, they add nutrients to the soil.
-Submitted by Steve Pollock
(Image credit: Washington Post)