Biblical, obnoxious or meditative, cicadas swarm the CSRA
AUGUSTA, Ga. - Emerging cicadas are so loud with their mating cries, it may seem like they’re disturbing the peace – but don’t call the cops.
Trillions of red-eyed periodical cicadas are emerging from underground in the eastern U.S. this month. The broods emerging are on 13- or 17-year cycles.
They usually emerge in different years, but they coincide this year.
David Haygood, an Augusta landscaper whose work takes him across the CSRA, has noticed they seem the loudest in Columbia County.
He said it sounds like an alien invasion.
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Other News 12 viewers report the loudest cicada songs in Columbia County, as well as central areas of Augusta.
That would make sense, since you will find cicadas wherever there are old-growth trees.
They feed on the root sap for decades, then emerge from the ground for the last few weeks of their life to create the next generation to repeat the cycle.
CICADA MANIA:
If you want to share your pictures and videos of cicadas in the CSRA, them at /community/-content/.
In one South Carolina county, residents are calling the sheriff’s office asking why they can hear sirens or a loud roar.
The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office sent out a message on Facebook on Tuesday letting people know that the whining sound is just the male cicadas singing to attract mates after more than a decade of being dormant.
Some people have even flagged down deputies to ask what the noise is all about, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said.
“Biblical,” Foster said when asked to describe the sound. “Like the locust coming.”
We spoke with Dr. Nancy Hinkle from the University of Georgia, who explained that cicadas tend to emerge when the soil temperature is 64 degrees.
“Once they come out as long as they don’t freeze, they are probably OK. They like warmer weather, but it doesn’t have to be very warm,” she said.
Even though periodical cicadas emerge every 13 years, they are not endangered.
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The young cicadas, or nymphs, feed on tree sap underground for 12 years and 11 months before they are ready to emerge from the soil.
“They have to feed on tree roots. So if somebody cuts down all the trees, all the cicadas underground die,” said Hinkle.
These insects may look creepy, but they are not harmful to humans.
“The cicadas are completely harmless. They cannot bite, they cannot sting, they do not smell,” said Hinkle.
“I think people should go out there and enjoy it,” said Eric LoPresti, a University of South Carolina associate professor and entomologist.
“It’s really a bonanza for things like birds and rodents,” LoPresti said. “There’s all this free protein.”
Entomologists say it will only last two to three weeks.
“It’s going to be a pretty short-lived phenomenon, so you can put your earplugs away soon,” LoPresti said.
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