Cicadas from HELL

So, last week the cicadas in our area matured. In case you aren't familiar with these loud little creatures, here's a link.

Apparently, our cozy little home in the suburbs was ground zero for the local infestation.

These things are EVERYWHERE. Crawling up the side of the house, committing suicide on my car windshield (it sounds like a gunshot when you hit one of these things doing 60).....freaking out my son and my students.

Now, I could look past all of that if it wasn't for the NOISE. I wish I had a way to share just how loud these little denizens truly are.

Their sound drowns out everything...human conversation, the television, even the town's emergency siren (okay, I exaggerated that last part, but only by a little). They are so loud I cannot hear myself think!

I'm a country girl...the sound of crickets lulls me to sleep.

Cicadas, however, are crickets on steroids playing death metal at 100 decibels. Aarghhh.

I know, it's an insignificant problem. But I'll be glad when this group journeys on to the afterlife......then it's another 17 years before the auditory assault begins once again.

Wishing you peace and QUIET,

smylee

reply to post by smyleegrl

Horny buggers... after 17 years, no wonder they're so noisy.

reply to post by smyleegrl


I think they're cool- another of nature's marvels.

This is Christmas for the birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians who will feed on them.

Can't wait until my son sees them for the first time.

Sorry, but when I think of them in this way, the annoyance they cause becomes a little less for me.

Yea, 17 years is long enough to be able to endure a little noise. Such marvels of nature. I always thought these things were natures little military flying tank bugs, perfect in design. We used to string their shedded shells on a string and wear them. They serve their function too, so we must share some space with em.
The sound always evokes childhood memories down in Louisiana, but I always associate sweltering heat with them too.
This too shall pass smyleegrl

Incidentally, I recently read this interesting article:

Cicada Recipes: Bugs Are Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Food

But my favorite paragraph was the following:

The only consequence of cicada feasting that Kritsky is aware of is overindulgence, especially on the part of the family dog or favorite backyard squirrel. The animals may be enticed to gobble cicadas so quickly that the bugs could block the animals' throats.

"Just imagine how you would react if inundated with thousands of flying Hershey's Kisses," Kritsky said. "You might go nuts. I'd go nuts. That's what happens to dogs or squirrels."

Too funny.

reply to post by smyleegrl


lol I hear ya loud and clear..

I remember the first time I saw & heard those things!

and I fully understand your plight..

hope its over soon for you

Originally posted by loam
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

I think they're cool- another of nature's marvels.

This is Christmas for the birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians who will feed on them.

Can't wait until my son sees them for the first time.

Sorry, but when I think of them in this way, the annoyance they cause becomes a little less for me.

edit on 22-5-2013 by loam because: (no reason given)

Great perspective!

I showed my son one of the shells they leave behind....he was freaked, to say the least.

Ah, well. It'll pass soon enough.

reply to post by smyleegrl

Cicadas, however, are crickets on steroids playing death metal at 100 decibels.

I would say their sound is more like dubstep, instead of death metal.

reply to post by smyleegrl


i am so jealous,,,, we have nothing like them cool looking buggers around here...

Originally posted by solve
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

i am so jealous,,,, we have nothing like them cool looking buggers around here...

They really are kinda cool. They molt and you can find their casings on trees and the like.

One of my more mischievous students collected a bunch of the casings and placed the strategically on my desk.

Surprising, but not nearly as freaky as the kid who put a tarantula molt on my desk. That one still haunts my dreams.

I cannot sleep if I'm camping when these guys start up. They are loud but as Loam mentioned they are a bonanza of free protein for many birds, mammals and reptiles. Sure beat brown stink bugs! Years ago when I drove a truck route (summer of '80 I think) the cicadas were so thick you had to stop and clean your windshield every 15 minutes.
I do marvel at how they can live as pupae underground for 17 years then pop out. How they fit all that bug in that tiny case is another wonder. Apparently the design isn't 100% perfected as I find many that never quite made it out of their larval shells.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Their sound always takes me back to Star Trek (TOS), where the Enterprise is firing a prolonged burst of phaser fire at something on the planet.

I must have some strong shields. Blasting my place all night long.

I too enjoy the sounds of night, but these guys are entirely to much for the first week. Whether camping or not. I guess I become used to it later.

Those little things can get loud!

A few years ago when we had a big brood emerge I worked in radio and we had a new GM from California. There was so much hype about it he joked about having nightmares of the roads thick and slippery from them and people not being able to drive.

After all the joking was done, he got very serious and asked "OK. So how bad will it be?"

He then decided to fed the hype by ordering Cicada Invasion shirts.

For those that's never experienced it: (and to fully understand smylee's rant, turn your speakers up!)

reply to post by smyleegrl


Ahhh! The sounds of an Aussie summer!

As kids we would go outside on dusk with a torch and water the ground around trees.
This would cause them to break surface in search of a tree or fence.
We would gather them up and put them on our bedroom curtains.

In the morning - voila! A cicada and a shell!
Green grocer, Yeller mundy, Black prince, Flowery baker are just some of the variants we prized as kids.

The local chemist used to pay you for the Black Prince variety. ( not sure why, I think it was for a type of anti venom )