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Trillions Of Brood X Cicadas Are Preparing To Emerge – Are You Ready?

It’s time, Rural Sprout Readers.

They’re coming.

Spring 2021.

Who knows, they may already be in your neighborhood.

Some sunny afternoon, you’ll walk outside expecting twittering birdsong, and instead, you’ll be greeted by the most intense droning of a billion voices that only know one song.

And that song is a 1960s Star Trek phaser set to stun.

The seventeen-year cicadas are coming, Brood X specifically.

Very soon, these loud-mouthed insects will be all over the northeastern United States.

Everywhere.

Yes, I do mean everywhere.

Periodicals and Annuals

Brood X is a periodical brood. If you’re unfamiliar with cicadas, you might not know there are annual and periodical cicadas. Annual cicadas, also known as dog-day cicadas, come out every couple of years. They get their name because they show up in the hottest days of summer and offer up a hum that sounds like electric wires overhead.

Periodical cicadas show up en masse as a large brood after spending thirteen to seventeen years growing underground and feeding on the roots of trees.

Holes left behind from emerging cicadas.

As they show up on a much larger scale than annual cicadas, they can create a bit of chaos with their presence and all of their noise.

What Do They Look Like?

Depending on your overall feeling towards bugs, cicadas are either quite striking or something straight out of a sci-fi movie.

They’re quite large, as far as insects go, an inch and a half to two inches in length. The cicadas have black bodies, and long translucent wings, with orange veins throughout. Their eyes are a bright brick red and quite large.

I think they’re pretty cool, but I like bugs in general.

What Do Periodical Cicadas Sound Like?

Awful.

Screeching-headache-inducing-throw-your-shoe-at-the-window-droning.

That’s how they sound.

It truly is a bizarre noise. The sound is almost electrical; like it shouldn’t be coming from a living creature.

Check out this YouTube video to experience the sound of a single cicada as well as the entire brood in chorus.

Sleepless Nights

As a ridiculously light sleeper, I can tell you that cicadas and katydids are the banes of my existence in later summer. I’ve spent many a night lying in bed wishing an early death on every screaming insect within a hundred-mile radius.

I’ve found the best way to deal with insect-disturbed sleep is by using a pair of silicone earplugs. Seriously, they are magical.

Why Do They Make So Much Noise?

Male cicadas do all the screeching. This apparently is to attract a female to mate with.

Hoo-boy.

Can I just say, if this was the practice in the human realm, we would have died out a long time ago.

They are incredibly striking as far as insects go.

Thankfully, we are not bugs.

Are Cicadas Harmful?

As far as swarming insects go, they’re harmless to your garden. They’re more of an annoyance than anything else. So, your prize tomatoes will be just fine.

However, cicadas can cause damage to young trees.

The females lay their eggs under the bark of smaller twigs. As the eggs grow, they expand and split open the branch. If you have enough cicadas laying eggs on a sapling, it could kill the tree.

Beth Cobaugh of Easton, PA, holds a branch covered in Brood X cicadas and their empty shells.

Because the female cicada prefers twigs around the size of a pencil, more mature trees can harbor these insects without serious harm.

If you have small saplings, consider covering them with fine netting or cheesecloth when the cicadas make their appearance.

If you plan on planting trees this spring, maybe hold off until a non-periodical cicada year. As always, get in touch with your local extension office to find out the cicada cycles in your area.

What’s So Special About Brood X?

Brood X is one of the largest broods of periodical cicadas, numbering in the trillions. Suffice it to say; this posse knows how to make an entrance. If you live in the northeastern parts of the United States, you’re probably well acquainted with them.

A cicada nymph stretches from its shell.
It’s almost cute. Almost.

When Will They Reach Me?

If you want to know when to expect these noisy neighbors in your area, consider downloading the Cicada Safari smartphone mapping app. You can see where they are, as well as report when you find them in your hometown. And of course, #broodx is a helpful search on social media.

A cicada nymph recently hatched from it's shell.
Okay, yeah, that’s creepy.

How Can I Get Rid of Cicadas?

Ah-ha.

Yeah, about that.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to get rid of them. Their sheer numbers make them a tough target. Not to mention, they aren’t inherently harmful.

Cicadas do not bite or sting. (They don’t have the necessary body parts for either activity.) They’re merely horrible neighbors who will be having a block party on your street this spring and inviting a trillion relatives.

It will end.

Off to find a mate.

Enjoy Brood X

They may be annoying, but their emergence is a pretty cool spectacle of the natural world. If you’ve got small kiddos, you should all check out Brood X together. Consider going out at night with flashlights and checking out trees to see if you can find any emerging nymphs.

By the time Brood X comes around again, your kiddos will be seventeen years older and may not have the same desire to be dragged out of bed at night to look at bugs.

Seriously, grab those earplugs I mentioned; you’ll feel a whole lot better about sharing the planet for a few months with Brood X.

The party’s over…

Of course, you could always eat them.

A hand grasps a fried cicada from a plate full of them.
Mmm, tastes like shrimp!

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Tracey Besemer

Hey there, my name is Tracey. I’m the editor-in-chief here at Rural Sprout.

Many of our readers already know me from our popular Sunday newsletters. (You are signed up for our newsletters, right?) Each Sunday, I send a friendly missive from my neck of the woods in Pennsylvania. It’s a bit like sitting on the front porch with a friend, discussing our gardens over a cup of tea.

Originally from upstate NY, I’m now an honorary Pennsylvanian, having lived here for the past 18 years.

I grew up spending weekends on my dad’s off-the-grid homestead, where I spent much of my childhood roaming the woods and getting my hands dirty.

I learned how to do things most little kids haven’t done in over a century.

Whether it was pressing apples in the fall for homemade cider, trudging through the early spring snows of upstate NY to tap trees for maple syrup, or canning everything that grew in the garden in the summer - there were always new adventures with each season.

As an adult, I continue to draw on the skills I learned as a kid. I love my Wi-Fi and knowing pizza is only a phone call away. And I’m okay with never revisiting the adventure that is using an outhouse in the middle of January.

These days, I tend to be almost a homesteader.

I take an eclectic approach to homesteading, utilizing modern convenience where I want and choosing the rustic ways of my childhood as they suit me.

I’m a firm believer in self-sufficiency, no matter where you live, and the power and pride that comes from doing something for yourself.

I’ve always had a garden, even when the only space available was the roof of my apartment building. I’ve been knitting since age seven, and I spin and dye my own wool as well. If you can ferment it, it’s probably in my pantry or on my kitchen counter. And I can’t go more than a few days without a trip into the woods looking for mushrooms, edible plants, or the sound of the wind in the trees.

You can follow my personal (crazy) homesteading adventures on Almost a Homesteader and Instagram as @aahomesteader.

Peace, love, and dirt under your nails,

Tracey
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