WHAT DO BROOD X CICADAS MEAN FOR YOUR GARDEN?
Do you remember what you were doing in the spring of 2004? If you were living in the Midwest, you may have signed up for Facebook and posted some vague status updates, went to see Napoleon Dynamite, The Notebook, or Spider-Man 2 in theaters, and you probably witnessed an apparent invasion of cicadas. The Brood X cicadas.
WHAT ARE BROOD X CICADAS?
Brood X cicadas have a periodical fixed lifespan. That means the adult form only emerges once every set number of years. For Brood X, that’s every 17 years, which means 2021. They emerge in the spring, once soil temps reach 64 degrees, tending to show up all at once, mate, and lay hundreds of eggs before the adults die off. Usually, it starts in mid-May and lasts for 4-6 weeks. There may still be a few stragglers emerging later in the spring and early summer, but the bulk of it should be over by the end of June. The males die immediately after mating, and the females lay their eggs and then die off.
If you're fascinated by insects, you can help out with a citizen science project about Brood X cicadas by downloading the Cicada Safari app.
HOW TO IDENTIFY BROOD X
You’ll know the Brood X cicadas have arrived by their sound. They don’t do the usual slightly annoying but ignorable cicada chirp. They’re quite a bit more vocal. Some people say they’d place them between a motorcycle and a chainsaw on a noise scale. You might want to invest in some earplugs if you expect to get any sleep. Maybe think of it as white noise?
HOW MANY WILL THERE BE?
When the scientists say there will be a lot of Brood X cicadas, they’re not joking. There will be literally billions of them across the states. You’ll be seeing them, and listening to them, daily and nightly, for several weeks.
WHAT DAMAGE WILL BROOD X DO?
Brood X cicadas don't hurt people, but they can cause damage to trees, especially fruit trees. Once they're ready to lay eggs, the females cut small slits into twigs and branches, where they will deposit their eggs. Eventually, the eggs grow into cicada nymphs, which then fall from the tree and burrow into the ground, to grow for another 17 years until it's time to emerge in 2038. Where will you be then?
It’s the act of cutting open the branch and depositing the eggs that damage the tree. Because they choose small twigs, about the size of a pencil, to cut open and essentially kill the branch. So eventually, the branch will need to be cut off, or it will fall off, breaking near where the eggs were laid.
This isn't a big deal in large trees because they have many large limbs to sustain themselves. But it can have a devastating impact on small and young trees with a lot of thin branches. If they get at a newly planted sapling, it may kill it. In fruit trees, it could almost completely eliminate fruit production this year. Cicadas aren’t too picky; they’ll lay their eggs in almost any deciduous tree—but they are particularly fond of oak, maple, and fruit trees.
HOW CAN I PROTECT MY GARDEN FROM BROOD X?
Cicadas are an essential part of the ecosystem, so it’s not a great idea to spray them with anything, not to mention it’s a waste of money since there will be so many of them. You can protect your trees by wrapping them up in tiny mesh netting. The holes in the mesh need to be smaller than a half-inch, and you need to wrap them well, including the trunk, since the cicadas will crawl up the trunk when they emerge. It’s best to get your saplings and young trees wrapped before the hordes of cicadas start to arrive, so do it ASAP.
HOW TO CLEAN UP AFTER BROOD X DIES
Possibly the worst part about Brood X cicadas is that they die quickly, and they really stink. Commit to cleaning up the mess of corpses regularly. The faster you get them cleaned up, the less stench you'll have to deal with. You can sweep them into a dustpan, you can rake them or shovel them up, or you can use a leaf blower to blow them into a pile to pick up.
If you own your home, you can dig a deep hole and bury the corpses in the ground to decay. If you rent or just don't want to dig a deep hole in your yard, dispose of them in plastic garbage bags, and make sure to keep them sealed tight and stored outside until pickup day.
Don't forget to clean your gutters; they will clog them up, and make sure to skim them out of your pool, hot tub, or pond.
In theory, their decomposing bodies would be a great source of organic nutrients for your soil. But, chances are neither you nor your neighbors want that smell emanating from your compost bin for the rest of the summer.
If you're fascinated by insects, you can help out with a citizen science project about Brood X cicadas by downloading the Cicada Safari app on your phone and submitting photos and data to help scientists studying cicadas.
If you need supplies to protect your trees or have questions about how you should wrap them, stop by the garden center, we can arm you with all the tools and tips you need to help your landscape survive the invasion.
