Community Chat

[JustJazzmom]

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@AngelPuppy1 wrote:

Do they kill plants?  I don't remember whether they are destructive or not.  Are these the bugs that leave their shells behind?    

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Yes, they leave their skins behind as they outgrow their skeleton. Yes, they are destructive in a certain way-- the female can lay eggs inside the branches of certain trees and the nymphs then when hatched drop to the ground to reside for 13-17 years depending on which kind of cicada it is (the 13 year vs the 17 year cicadas).

One natural predator is around to kill it-- the cicada wasp and it stings or paralyzes them and drags them into their ground dirt nests for food for their eggs when they hatch. The eggs get laid on the cicada and then when they hatch, the food is already there for the larvae of the wasp

[Eileen in Virginia]

Well nuts! We've lived in Northern Virginia for 38 years and I only remember them coming out en masse once. That year, you couldn't walk anywhere without crunching them. They've come out in smaller concentrations a few times, but were much more manageable/avoidable. They're big, ugly and scary looking, but they don't bite. I'm more afraid of the cicada killers which are bigger and uglier and which might sting you.

[segrl21]

As a girl born and raised in the south I miss that sound so much since moving to the West Coast. I've even downloaded a nature soundtrack with Cicadas in it. Its the the small thing you miss when you move away from home. It reminds me of sitting on the porch after dark, lightening bugs and hot summer nights. 

[novamc1]

Here in Northern Virginia just outside of Wash DC, I've lived through two 17-year cicada cycles over the past 38 years of living in the same house.

 I grew up in this same zip code but don't remember any cicada invasions when i was a child---maybe I was away at school.

At any rate, these critters are disgusting.  Out on the road while driving, swarms of them hit the windshield, and the mess can actually damage paint on the car.  My dachshund ate them and then threw up their carcasses in the house.  They do a lot of damage to trees and large shrubs, although the damage doesn't  seem to affect the long-range beauty or health of plants.

I'm moving away from the area in the Fall and would love to escape the latest onslaught.

The first time I ever saw one of these huge bugs, I was suntanning on a chaise lounger out in the yard, and one came out of the ground right next to me, making a buzzing sound.  I wasn't prepared for that and jumped up, screamed and ran inside the house.

[Sooner]

I  hate these things almost as much as I hate crickets.  We have had cricket outbreaks here in Oklahoma sometimes too.  Crickets are horrible if they get in the house and keep your awake and you'e up at 3 in the morning cussin' and moving the dresser to chase that danged cricket!

Cicads are so noisy it is awful around here.  One tree full of them will make noise then those in the tree next to them will answer.  BACK and FORTH and BACK and FORTH!

[RedTop]

OMG, I absolutely hate these things.  My girls were so fascinated with cicadas when they were small, until they saw their dogs eating them.  At that point they started killing as many as they could, and since they were working so hard to get rid of the noisy, nuisance bugs, I paid them a penny apiece for every one they killed!   It was a great way to keep them busy!

[novamc1]

Will never forget the night that my husband and I stayed in a (cheap) hotel  on I-85 in North Carolina while on our way to Georgia for a visit.  There was a cricket somewhere in the corner of the room and it kept me up all night.  I couldn't find it and believe it was under the carpet somewhere.  Drove me nuts.  Complained to management the next day........got no sympathy from that source at all! 

The noise generated during a 17-year cicada invasion would make a good eerie sound track for a science fiction movie.  Nonstop whirring and humming.

[fortune]

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@segrl21 wrote:

As a girl born and raised in the south I miss that sound so much since moving to the West Coast. I've even downloaded a nature soundtrack with Cicadas in it. Its the the small thing you miss when you move away from home. It reminds me of sitting on the porch after dark, lightening bugs and hot summer nights. 

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I promise that when our cicadas arrive, I will box up a bunch and send them out too you!!! 

[Puzzle Piece]

Maybe everyone affected can send Anthony Bordain boxes of captured Cicadas.  He likes to eat bugs so he'll have a low food bill if everyone helps him out. 

[sunshine45]

i am always more worried about the mosquitos......they LOVE me and my blood. LOL

i go to bed at night sometimes and seem to wake up with a bunch of bites on my arms or legs.