How to get rid of cicadas, according to bug experts

This year will see trillions of these noisy bugs emerge in a double brood event not seen since 1803. Is your yard ready?

The cicadas are coming. In fact, trillions of them are expected to emerge this spring.

On top of the “annual” cicadas that show up every spring, there are also “periodical” broods of cicadas that rarely emerge to the surface — only once every 10 to 20 years. But this spring, a rare double brood event that hasn’t occurred since 1803 will bring out lots of extra bugs, especially in Midwest states and a scattering of Eastern states. (See this map that shows where the cicadas will emerge.)

While they don’t pose any health threats — cicadas don’t bite people or pets because they’re herbivores, says Emma Grace Crumbley, an entomologist for Mosquito Squad — these buggers can be quite noisy, and if you’re in an area that’s getting an invasion, you’ll see them swarming the air, perched in trees and will find their crunchy exoskeletons shed on the ground.

“Some people find adult cicadas annoying because of their stridulation, which is the way they scream,” Crumbley says. “In the South, though, cicadas are thought of more fondly as a tell-tale sign of summer.”

The other downside of cicadas is their larvae can be garden pests, especially if you’ve got young trees or saplings in your yard, she adds.