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2024 Periodical Cicadas Pose Little Threat04-26-24 | News

2024 Periodical Cicadas Pose Little Threat

Reassurance For Land and People
by Staff

The emergence of periodical cicada Broods XIII and XIX will create little more than a mild annoyance for most people in the United States, but there are some considerations to be made regarding vulnerable trees.

This year, two broods of periodical cicadas-Broods XIII and XIX-are emerging simultaneously for the first time in over 200 years, but they pose little threat to humans and are mostly beneficial for the landscape.

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On WGN9 Chicago, Bob Bertog of Bertog Landscape Co. shared that the most harmful thing about cicadas is annoyance caused by the constant sounds the males make, which can reach up to 100 decibels. Otherwise, they don't bite and provide a feast for predators from spiders to squirrels to bats to dogs and everything in between. In fact, the only danger to creatures who eat cicadas is eating too many of them.
Cicada nymphs live underground near tree roots, where they feed on the sap but not the roots. These nymphs emerge with the warm weather, leaving tunnels in the ground that aerate the soil and facilitate water flow. After mating, the females slice open a tree branch with their ovipositor in order to lay their eggs. The tree then recognizes that it has been wounded and stops sending nutrients to that branch. While this is normal and largely not harmful to the tree, if cicadas lay eggs in a small tree, that tree might become overwhelmed and die.
To protect young or sick trees, Bertog and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommend covering the tree with a fine mesh net or cloth and securing the cloth around the trunk. Cicadas cannot harm larger trees that are more established and do not eat flowers or fruit. It is worth noting that the double emergence does not mean that there will be a double population of cicadas except in a few woods where their territories overlap.
https://wgntv.com/midday-news/the-gardeners-toolbox-cicada-101/?mc_cid=d8fa078b21&mc_eid=403818acbf
https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/cicadas#:~:text=Cicadas%20are%20not%20dangerous%20and,the%20soil%20as%20they%20decompose

Filed Under: CICADAS, NATURE, GARDEN, LASN
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