What Pest Control Experts Want You to Know About Cicadas and if They’re Dangerous
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The transparent number of cicadas that emerge at once can be frightening—there’s no doubt about it. So it’s normal to wonder: Do cicadas bite, and are they dangerous? Especially now that both the 13-year Brood XIX and 17-year brood XIII are set to emerge, something experts like Rocky Beninato, founder and licensed exterminator at Quality Affordable Pest Control, says hasn’t happened since the 1800s.
Meet the experts: Howard Russell, M.S., a board-certified entomologist at Michigan State University; Rocky Beninato, founder and licensed exterminator at Quality Affordable Pest Control; Kristen Stevens, associate certified entomologist with Fox Pest Control; Godfrey Nalyanya, Ph.D., associate certified entomologist at Ehrlich Pest Control
“This essentially means one species that lay dormant for 13 years and another species that lay dormant for 17 years will both emerge at the same time,” Beninato explains, adding that this mass arrival will cause billions of cicadas to take flight this spring and summer, leading many to wonder about the dangers associated with the bugs.
First, a bit about the Brood XIX and XIII cicadas
While the transparent volume of the cicadas will set them apart from past emergencies, including the broods of annual cicadas that arrive this time every year, Kristen Stevens, associate certified entomologist with Fox Pest Control, says that Broods XIX and XIII have more in common with past cicada broods than not. “These cicadas are no different than the ones we see every year,” she says. “Except that they have a long-life cycle and do not come around as frequently.”
That being said, there are some unusual details about this coming emergence that have been making headlines, including news that the fungus Massospora cicadina may be infecting these bugs. The fungus is expected to cause these broods to develop an overactive sex drive that will, among other things (like causing their genitals to fall off) prompt them to spread the fungal infection through mating. Stevens says that neurotoxins like this will have an impact on the brain of the cicadas, “and ultimately it will result in a quick death.”
Fortunately, humans won’t have to worry too much about these broods or the fungus, according to Stevens. “The only thing that may be a nuisance is the noise—they are said to have the same decibel of sound as that of a chainsaw,” she adds.
As for when you’ll get to experience this massive emergence, Stevens says you can expect to start seeing these cicadas in certain areas of the United States—like Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and more—soon. “These broods will emerge anywhere from now until June,” she explains, adding that these two broods won’t emerge together for another 221 years!
Do cicadas bite?
No, you will not be bitten by a cicada nor will it seek you out and attack you, says Howard Russell, M.S., a board-certified entomologist at Michigan State University.
In fact, they can’t even bite you (or your pets) if they want to. “Their mouths have no mandibles—or jaws—and they have no physical characteristics like a stinger with which to defend themselves,” says Timothy Best, a board-certified entomologist and technical manager at Terminix. What they do have, though, is a drinking straw-like appendage coming from their mouths that they use to suck up sap—but that won’t hurt you.
“Cicadas are not dangerous to people, animals, pets, or structures,” says Godfrey Nalyanya, Ph.D., associate certified entomologist at Ehrlich Pest Control, adding that they’re also not venomous and don’t pass on diseases.
To be fair, though, cicadas also have several sharp and pointy parts on their body that could make you think you’ve been bitten if you happen to handle one, Russell says.
If your pet happens to eat a cicada, Best says you shouldn’t panic. “Cicadas are not poisonous,” he says. “Dogs and cats might try to eat cicadas, but the insects alone do not pose any serious risk to them.” However, your pet might get an upset stomach, Best says, “as the exoskeleton may be difficult to digest.”
Are cicadas harmful in any other way?
Cicadas are pretty harmless as a whole, but there are some caveats. One is that their nymphs (young cicadas) like to feed on young shrubs and saplings. The females also slice into twigs to lay their eggs.
“Females may damage young broadleaf trees and shrubs when they lay eggs in the ends of small branches, which normally kills the branch above where the eggs are laid,” Russell explains. This can result in sections of dead leaves in trees, so if you recently planted new trees or shrubs, you may want to cover them before the cicadas arrive.
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Hearst OwnedHowever, Meek says that potential harm to newly planted trees will be “mild to moderate,” pointing out that established trees will be just fine.
As for your grass, cicadas will not harm it, Nalyanya says. The only potential damage might be cicada chimneys (or holes)—small dirt structures in the ground—that these bugs create when they emerge. “When large numbers of cicada nymphs emerge from the soil, exit holes may be noticeable in a lawn,” he says. “The holes may be unsightly, but do not permanently harm the turf.”
As for the noise they create? While you’ll definitely hear it, Nalyanya says that “the sound decibels they produce are not strong enough to cause hearing damage or loss.” Instead, Meek adds, the noise will be similar to that of a “low-flying airplane or lawn mower.”
Ah, nature!
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