The Brood V cicadas return every 17 years, said Douglas Harvath, a naturalist at Fiver Rivers Metro Parks.
“The cicadas will appear about 50 miles east of Dayton all the way to Pennsylvania,” Harvath said. “We may get a few in Montgomery County also.”
The insects have been underground developing for the past 17 years. During that time, they feed from the roots of trees. The adults appear above ground to mate, Harvath said. The sound from a single male can peak at 100 decibels, which is as loud as a lawn mower.
Cicadas, while a nuisance, bring some good with them.
The last time this brood emerged, in 1999, the wild turkey population flourished, delighting hunters across the state. And birds rarely seen in Ohio often arrive to feast on the cicada buffet.
“Everyone eats them,” said Jim McCormac, an avian expert with the Ohio Division of Wildlife. ” There are birds like the Mississippi kite (a small bird of prey) that is a very rare breeder in Ohio, but they are huge cicada eaters. … Everything, just basically everything that can grab one, will start eating them.”
When cicadas climb to the surface after living underground for years, the holes they leave behind will aerate the soil and more quickly funnel rainwater to plant and tree roots, said Gene Kritsky, chairman of the biology department at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati and a cicada expert.
Cicadas will only live for about six to eight weeks while they are above ground. They will lay their eggs on trees, which can cause some minor damage.
“They can cause some scarring to the trees,” Harvath said. “The tress can handle it for the most part.”
Cicadas are more of a threat to younger trees. Experts with the Ohio State University Extension said people should use nets to protect younger trees in their yards, or wait until the cicadas are gone to plant them.
“Tie the netting off around the trunk and branches,” said Suzanne Mills-Wasniak, Ohio State Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources. “That will keep them from laying eggs on the branches.”
The last time the Dayton area was hit with Cicadas was back in 2004. Brood X, will not return to our area until 2021. Mary Lewis,60, said she remembers scores of them near her home.
“I opened my front door and they were all over the place,” Lewis said. “I had to sweep them up to get them off of my porch.”
The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this report.
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