Wacky Pest Wednesday: Cicadas

A very happy Wednesday to all you loyal Tri-County Pest Control fans out there, and welcome to our latest edition of Wacky Pest Wednesday!  Today, we invite you to join us as we cover a bug that you’ve heard plenty this summer: the cicada!

Unofficially known as the sound of the summer, cicadas are among the loudest bugs to walk the Earth.  All of that chirping you hear outside at nights are the male cicadas trying to serenade the female cicadas, which can register at a whopping 120 decibels if you get close enough (to put it in perspective, a rock concert is usually at 120 decibels, and a jet taking off comes in at 140 decibels).  Sure they’re loud and there’s a ton of them, but what is really fascinating about these pests is that they know how to count!

You may remember from school that cicadas only emerge once every 13 or 17 years, yet their ability to count is not learned—it’s ingrained in their genes.  Nature has helped certain cicada species gain the innate ability to count and appear at certain intervals, so as to lessen the chance the predators will wipe out an entire colony in one fell swoop.  If you’d like to learn more about how they can count on their own, check out this article and video here.  However, not all cicadas are on this schedule, as there are plenty of cicada species that emerge every year—which is why you have heard cicadas every summer as long as you can remember.

Despite their ominous appearance and 5 eyes, cicadas are nothing to worry about.  They don’t bite, and their jaws act like straws so they can suck up some plant juice.  Yet, just be warned that if you use power tools, some cicadas may get curious and fly around you and which kind of cicada is making that sound.

The sound may be loud, but we promise that you have nothing to fear from this summertime pest!