When the summer months approach, you might hear cicadas outside your house chirping into the night. To some, they are the sound of summer. However, when you have your windows open to let that cool summer night breeze in, the song of cicadas can become a little irritating.
You might wonder if there is anything to be done about this noise. However, that isn’t the case. Some cicadas are on an annual life cycle and reemerge every summer, which is generally the ones that most people are familiar with. However, there is a specific cicada breed, the Brood X, a breed that shows up only once every 17 years. This leads to quite a few questions: Where do they go for that long? Why? What makes them different?
Well, Emerald Island is here to tell you. Keep reading to learn about this intriguing, undefeatable cicada that is on a 17-year-long life cycle.
Where Do the Brood X Cicadas Go?
Actually, there are 12 versions of this cicada that emerge every 17 years. During the time that they are dormant, they live underground. You can think of these bugs as a synchronized team. They pretty much all show up and leave at the same time. There have been some reports of a few from the bunch that show up earlier than expected, but it is said to be rarely a notable number of cicadas.
The Damage They Cause – Or Don’t Cause
While they are large and unappealing to the human eye, they are not harmful to humans. However, they can cause some very minor damage to your landscape. Brood X cicadas, the female ones at least, will lay their eggs in branches of trees. Before doing so, they create a slit in the branches to make room. Luckily, this won’t have a long-term effect on a mature tree, but it can cause surface damage, weakening the tree for the duration of this growing season. When the branches fall off and the cicadas burrow into the ground, they don’t really harm your trees after that. They can even sometimes act as fertilizer for your soil.
When Should You Expect The Brooding Cicadas?
Fox 4 reports that these singing cicadas will show up in the most southern region of the United States, which is true according to many sources. This will include a large number of them in Tennessee. The University of Tennesee’s Institue of Agriculture has created a map to show where our state’s residents can expect to see this cicada phenomenon.
Manage Your Pest Problem With The People At Emerald Island Lawn Service!
Unfortunately, there is nothing that a pest control service can do for these bugs. But don’t fret, you might get annoyed by their sound, but in about two months, your yard and your evening sounds will go back to normal. The Brooding Cicadas have a short mission here above ground.
Emerald Island Lawn Service delivers quality pest control to Knoxville area residents. In addition to caring for your flowering ornamentals, we can provide grub control and offer a lawn fertilization program to ensure your garden stays nourished and pest-free so you can focus on enjoying the beautiful butterflies. Let us show your garden the same care we’d show our own. Give us a call at 865-588-4497 or contact us online here.