Billions of the 17-year-cicadas are due to come out over the next few weeks, across a swath of the East Coast ranging from North Carolina to Connecticut, NBC News reports.

Billions of the 17-year-cicadas are due to come out over the next few weeks, across a swath of the East Coast ranging from North Carolina to Connecticut, NBC News reports.  People are getting all twitchy about the bugs that are coming out in New York and New Jersey after a 17-year buildup, but when it comes to cicadas, Billy Tesh is seeing the real deal in North Carolina.

“I was so excited,” Tesh told NBC News from Greensboro, where he runs a company called Pest Management Systems. “I’ve never seen so many in one location in my life. They were on almost every blade of grass.  Other species of cicadas break out from the ground every year, but scientists suspect that the 17-year cicadas (and their 13-year kin) adopted a longer life cycle as an evolutionary ploy to overwhelm their predators with sheer numbers and surprise. When the time comes, masses of insects burrow out of their underground homes, shake off the shells of their childhood, unfurl their wings and look around for mates.

This spring’s group is known as Brood II — which comes between last year’s Brood I in Appalachia and next year’s Brood III in the Midwest.

A big brood of cicadas is forecast to emerge from the ground this spring along the East Coast, all the way from the Carolinas to New York State.

They’re baaaa-aaack! A big “brood” of 17-year cicadas — which has been biding its time underground since the first Clinton administration — is forecast to emerge from the ground this spring along the East Coast, and will pop up as far north as New York City.

“Spectacular” and “amazing” are two of the words used by University of Maryland entomologist Michael Raupp to describe the East’s biggest influx of the annoying but mostly harmless bugs since a separate brood emerged in 2004.

This year’s “emergence” should be quite extensive, as the critters will likely come out all the way from the Carolinas to the Hudson Valley of New York, says John Cooley, a research scientist from the University of Connecticut.

“All the East Coast cities are in the path of the cicadas,” says Cooley, who runs the magicicada.org website, and requests reports from people who see cicadas this spring.

The emergence could include parts or all of the New York metropolitan area, whose nearly 20 million inhabitants might have to contend with swarms of cicadas, which can number as many as 1 billion bugs per square mile. Historically, this brood has been seen in the Bronx, Cooley says, and the bugs could also come out in Central Park.

“The greater New York metro area is going to rock with cicadas,” according to Raupp.

They should emerge in the South in late April or May and in the cooler states in the North by the latter half of May and into early June, he adds. Unfortunately, this is just in time for prime wedding season.

“The timing depends on the weather,” says Dan Mozgai, a cicada enthusiast from Metuchen, N.J.. “They typically emerge when the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees.” Mozgai is the founder of the website cicadamania.com.

There are at least 15 cycles, or “broods,” of periodical cicadas, some of which emerge every 17 years, while others emerge every 13 years. Different broods of cicadas emerge in different parts of the eastern half of the USA in different years. Other species of cicadas show up every summer. The bugs have only been seen as far west as Texas and Oklahoma and have not been spotted in the Far West.

Watch this video too see what the cicadas sound like.

This year’s group is known as “Brood II.” The previous big cicada emergence in the East was 2004′s “Brood X.” (Like Super Bowls, entomologists like using Roman numerals to label the different broods.) Brood X will emerge again in 2021.

Cicadas are harmless bugs, though males can make a loud buzz when they’re alarmed, and they’re big enough to startle humans in return. The largest can have three-inch wingspans. Young, small trees can also be damaged when females deposit their eggs inside branches, so they can be a problem for fruit orchards, Cooley says.

An adult cicada usually lives for about two to four weeks, Mozgai says. This is a long time to wait after spending 17 years underground: They admittedly have “a pretty dismal life,” Cooley says. The bugs only come above ground to breed for the next batch of cicadas.

According to the Penn State University Entomology Department, cicadas stay alive underground by drawing fluid from the roots of plants during those 17 (or 13) years.

And they do serve a purpose: Cicadas aid their host trees by aerating the soil when they emerge, as well as by trimming weaker branches when they lay their eggs, Morzgai notes on his website. “They also form a vital link in the food chain between trees and literally hundreds of carnivores and omnivores.”

The uniqueness of cicadas has given them a special appeal and cultural status, Cooley writes on the magicicada.org website. “Members of the Onondaga Nation near Syracuse maintain the oral tradition of being rescued from famine by periodical cicadas,” he adds. “Early European colonists viewed periodical cicadas with a mixture of religious apprehension and loathing.”

And who or what eats them? “Anything with a mouth,” says Cooley, including deer, squirrels, house pets, birds, and yes, people:

“Whether they’re curious or doing it for the shock value, people are eating cicadas,” Mozgai writes. “Asian peoples have eaten cicadas for centuries, and there are records of Native Americans eating cicadas. I’ve heard they taste like asparagus, popcorn, minty shrimp, and piney shrimp.”

If you’re not into eating cicadas, you can always listen to them: In order to attract females, male cicadas emit a deafening chorus, which can reach 90 decibels — as loud as a lawnmower.

All this to ensure that this brood’s children will be around to bug us again ….in 2030.

For some reason, the call of a cicada makes a summer day feel even hotter! What call? Well, whether you realize it or not, you know the sound to which I am referring. It starts like a revving engine and continues as a sustained shrill or buzzing noise. Produced by the vibration of membranes in the insect abdomen over a resonance chamber, sound is made by a drum-like structure and is used by males to attract mates. In morning, afternoon or evening, you can’t miss the sound of a drumming cicada!

Cicadas are much more than the soundtrack of a hot summer. They have a unique life history that is obscure and difficult to study, since development of nymphs occurs entirely underground! It all starts when an adult female cicada lays eggs in the twigs of a tree or shrub. This typically kills the growing twig, and provides an ideal incubation site for eggs. After about a month, eggs hatch and newly emerged nymphs drop to the ground where they will feed on the roots of perennial plants.

That is exactly the point when things get interesting biologically. You see, there are two major groups of cicadas differentiated by the time it takes for nymphs to develop. The first group is the dog-day cicada, making references to the time of year when adults emerge in July and August – the “dog days of summer.” These are large, green and black insects that have clear wings and make a rattling sound during flight. Nymphs of dog-day cicadas may take 2-3 years to develop, but because they exhibit overlapping generations with adults emerging every year, they are present each summer to fill their air with the mating songs. On tree trunks and other vertical surfaces, you can find the exoskeleton of the last nymphal instar: a tan shell of an insect with claws and rather large eyes. In the middle of the back is an opening from which the adult cicada crawled out, expanded its wings and flew off.

Whereas the dog-day cicada is present every year, periodical cicadas exhibit mass emergence on a cycle of every 13 or 17 years! That’s right; these black and orange insects with red eyes remain in the soil for over a decade, slowly feeding on plant roots and all emerging in May or early June of the same year. Why such a long development time and mass emergence? This life cycle is thought to provide protection from predators by making periodical cicadas an unpredictable food resource. During a mass emergence predators are overwhelmed by the abundance of cicadas, and are not capable of depleting insect numbers. This guarantees the success of the species by providing ample mating opportunities for the cicadas.

There is a predator out there that gets the phones buzzing at pest management companies around this time: the cicada killer. This insect is a solitary wasp that captures cicadas and uses them to nourish their offspring. Cicada killers are some of the largest wasp species in North America and hunt by sight. Textbook descriptions suggest that these predators capture prey in flight, something I did not believe until I saw it firsthand. As a graduate student I conducted field research on an agricultural farm in Delaware, which exhibited bare, sandy soils common of the coastal plain. Ideal habitat for cicada killers that burrow up to four feet into the ground, my plots were peppered with burrows made by the female wasps. I watched as aggressive, but stingless males flew around female burrows to either guard their mate or to find mating opportunities. It was one sunny afternoon that a cicada carelessly flew from one hedgerow to another across the field, when suddenly a cicada killer swooped in to grab/sting the insect and bring it to the ground. Paralyzed by the venom, the female would then bring the cicada back to its burrow as a feast for her offspring. The insect world is a cruel place!

What can we do to help? Cicada killers prefer open-ground with bare soil to create their burrows. At JP McHale we offer power seeding and lawn fertilization that will keep your yard healthy, yet making it inhospitable for cicada killers. If you currently have cicada killers, our pest management division has products to target these insects and alleviate your problems. Give us a call today for a pest-free lawn, and be sure to keep an ear out for cicadas as they are going to start soon!

Appearance

1-1 5/8″ black with yellow markings. Two wings. Cicada killers are often mistaken for yellow jackets. Cicadas are much larger and faster then yellow jackets.

Habitat

The like to nest in the ground. When activity is noticed holes will appear in the ground with small soil mound outside them.

How do they affect me?

Cicada kills are very intimidating. When an infestation is found there will be hundreds of them. It’s rare that a female cicada killer will sting.

What do I do?

Cicada’s are covered under J.P. McHale Pest Management’s home pest prevention plan. Simultaneously we can also eliminate all bare-spots on your yard to prevent them from returning in the future.

Periodical cicada nymphs feed underground on tree roots, but will not cause significant damage to your landscape trees. In fact, the cicada nymphs help aerate the soil, and bring nutrients and nitrogen to the surface, benefiting plants.

Once the nymphs emerge, they spend a few days on trees and shrubs, allowing their new adult exoskeletons to harden and darken. During this time, they do not feed and will not damage your trees.

Adult cicadas exist for one reason – to mate. The female cicada excavates a channel in small twigs or branches (those around the diameter of a pen). She deposits her eggs in the slit, effectively splitting the branch open. The ends of affected branches will brown and wilt, a symptom called flagging.

How can you protect your trees from cicada damage? The three main choices are covering, spraying or pruning.

• Small trees can be covered with very fine netting such as cheesecloth, secured around the trunk to prevent the determined critters from climbing up. You’ll need to keep them covered from the first sign of emergence until the “invasion” is over.
• Pest Control Treatment is an option that can help to reduce damage, mainly by acting as a repellant that fends off the females before they lay their eggs.  Advanced treatments for invasive pests such as cicadas are delivered simultaneously with tick applications to guard and protect your health and property.
• If you notice twigs with fresh slits in which eggs have been laid, you can prune them and destroy them before the eggs hatch. When you prevent egg-laying or remove damaged twigs, it follows that you will also lessen the likelihood of root damage from the resulting larvae.
• Young trees, particularly ornamental fruit trees, do require some protection. Because most of its branches are still small enough to attract female cicadas intent on laying eggs, a young tree may lose most or all of its branches. In very young trees with trunks under 1 1/2″ diameter, even the trunk may be excavated by a mated female.

So how do you keep your new landscape trees safe from cicada damage?
Use netting with openings less than one half inch wide, or cicadas will be able to crawl through it. Drape the netting over the entire tree canopy, and secure it to the trunk so no cicadas can crawl under the opening. Your netting will need to be in place before the cicadas emerge; remove it once all the cicadas are gone.

If you are planning to plant a new tree in a year when cicadas are due to emerge in your area, wait until the fall. The tree will have 17 years to grow and establish itself before the next generation arrives

After 17 years the cicadas are set to return to the East Coast and New York will not be spared.

There could be as many as one billion cicadas emerging per square mile,” Michael Raupp, a professor of Entomology at the University of Maryland, told 1010 WINS. “This is really a spectacular opportunity for children, for adults, for students to go out and learn about one of Mother Nature’s rarest, most interesting events.”

Insect experts say that starting in mid April to late May, residents from North Carolina to New England will witness the emergence of billions upon billions of the singing insects. For them to emerge, the ground has to be a mild 64 degrees, notes retired Smithsonian entomologist Gary F. Hevel.

“In places where they’re going to be present, it’s going to be spectacular. There could be as many as 1 billion cicadas emerging per square mile,” Michael Raupp, a professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, told 1010 WINS.

Cicadas spend most of their lives underground. Near the end of their lifespans they emerge to climb trees, shed their exoskeletons, sing, fly and mate. Both females and males die soon after the females lay their eggs.

Aside from the mess of dead cicadas and the loud noise, these swarms of critters are harmless.

The cicadas about to spring from the ground are called Brood II, and are offspring from the last cycle that showed up in 1996, reports National Geographic.

This April, homeowners are reminded to pest-proof their home in preparation for the upcoming pest season. J.P. McHale Pest Management recommends the following tips:

• Seal cracks and holes on the outside of the home including entry points for utilities and pipes.
• Repair worn out roof shingles.
• Replace weather-stripping around doors and windows.
• Keep tree branches and shrubs well trimmed and away from the house.
• Store fire wood away from the house.
• Eliminate standing water around in your yard, including birdbaths and in clogged gutters.
• Keep basements, attics and crawl spaces well ventilated and dry.
• Store food in sealed containers.
• Store garbage outdoors in sealed containers.

Spring and summer are extremely active times of the year in the pest management industry.  If you are noticing higher than normal pest activity contact J.P. McHale Pest Management.

On March 16th and 17th we participated in the Westchester Home Show.  J.P. McHale Pest Management and Envirocare Air Quality Restoration teamed up in a booth and both were a huge hit amongst both homeowner’s and local business professionals!

The show was a huge success and our booth had lots of visitor’s from attendees that were interested in learning about our top of the line services and residential pest control.  Bed bugs and stink bugs were a huge topic!  We explained about all aspects of bed bugs including our bed bug heat treatment services and also about exterior pest control services for stink bugs and how to reduce entry points into the home with insect and rodent exclusion and sealing your home to reduce insects.

There were also vendors covering services featuring home improvements such as home fixtures, windows, solar panels, hot tubs, kitchen remodeling and many more.

Since springtime is a time for home improvement project we were on hand to talk about and explain the benefits of having your air ducts cleaned, power washing your roof, siding, walkways and outdoor spaces, insulating against the summertime heat and the benefits of crawlspace makeovers.

Roaches and termites, and ticks, oh my! While clicking your red heels three times might exterminate your pest problems, your solution can be as simple: call the experts at JP McHale Pest Management to get rid of all uninvited pests.

Serving numerous counties throughout New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, JP McHale offers home pest solutions, lawn and tree care, mosquito and tick abatement, termite control, environmental services, and commercial and industrial pest elimination.

The company employs programs designed by a Cornell University graduate entomologist and a staff plant pathologist alongside state-of-the-art tools and technology to provide low-risk, environmentally sound ways to exterminate annoying pests – including bed bug heat treatment in New York, New Jersey and portions of Connecticut.

Termites are known as “silent destroyers” because of their ability to chew through wood, flooring and even wallpaper undetected. Each year, termites cause more than $5 billion in property damage. Swarmers, looking to start a new colony, are typically the first sign of termite season as these winged-pests show up inside homes in early spring. To get rid of termites in the home, contact a termite management specialist to address the infestation.