I expected much worse. I envisioned daily sessions with the leaf blower clearing pathways through the swarms of decaying carcasses. I’ve heard some parts of this county ARE experiencing such an infestation but just a minor nuisance for us so far. Luckily, we are on the very western edge of one of the 2 varieties making their presence known, so not as bad as further east of here.
I heard a local entomologist explain that the infestation is directly related to the conditions in that area when they went underground. If there is something favorable for them in that area, they’ll be back when their cycle tells them to emerge. I heard of one farmer a little west of Houston, MO who is inundated with them and the farm across the road (their in-laws), has no such problem.
We still find bugs (dead or still alive but dormant) everywhere. I had one land on my bare back and sort of creeped me out when I brushed it away and it was the size of my thumb. Overall though, they are quite docile – just waiting to die. However, now it appears that even the chickens have had their fill of them.
Even though they are not swarming everywhere, they are still plentiful. This young tree across the driveway exploded in fleeing bugs when my errant frisbee shot disturbed them. A huge cloud took flight and then returned to the tree. Notice the little holes? Once they have mated, they’ll find such a tree and embed their eggs in the holes. They keep digging and burying eggs in such a way spiraling up the tree until they are empty. Then, they find a quiet place to die – which are the ones we see on the buildings or any other place to perch.
What is measurable however is the noise. I previously heard that it will be deafening but it took us a while to recognize it. I expected the high pitched buzzing noise we’d hear high in the trees late in the summer in MN. But this is more of a frog sounding chirp you’d normally hear in the evening but this blares all day long. It’s similar to the tinnitus we are adjusting to in our advanced years – just much louder. And it dies down at sunset – opposite of the frog chirping. (We’ve learned the frogs “peep” down here – unlike MNs ribbit or croaking).
Here is an example of the din from our morning walk with the dogs. This is along the front edge of our back woods and sadly the phone video doesn’t do it justice. Turn it UP! For perspective, you’ll hear Sherry calling the dogs towards the end of the clip.
What is drastically different from normal is the cicadas drone on all day long but quiet down at sundown. That’s when you can hear the actual crickets and frogs.
But, in a few more weeks, we’ll be done with them. The new generation (larvae) will be burrowing into the ground for the next several years before it is their turn to emerge for their final 2 weeks of fun.
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Was wondering how you were faring with the bugs. You’re right about the noise. Sounded just like our former back yard In spring when all the frogs are singing. Mi miss that terribly.
After a while, it turns into white noise you don’t even notice until you force yourself to hear them. And then it is deafening – all day long. We have woods directly to the east and north of us and they are all humming with their chirping. Luckily, we are in the open all the way to the road so not as bad but those woods are still pretty close.