weren't they just here like 3-4 yrs ago?

I think they vary by region.... I guess it's our turn

cinda: You have my sympathy. I hate those ugly red eyed creatures. They were last here in '04 and it was huge, as evidenced in a few local newspaper articles.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: Cincinnati Enquirer

Any year that's a cicada year...
Is a year I don't garden!

Cathy

oh yess! i am an expert on Magicicada. this year they will emerge around northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, extreme northern Indiana, extreme southern Michigan, and southern Wisconsin. there are 12 broods of 17 year cicada and 3 broods of 13 year cicadas. we have been in the big gap of magicicada emergences since brood X the largest of all in 2004. Brood XI would have emerged in 2005 but it went extinct in 1954. in 2008 the very large brood XIV will emerge in the hundreds of millions, perhaps billions. Get ready Chicago and other areas!

Here is a link that might be useful: Magicicada

Philmont - That is a very interesting page! I'm excited! 17 years is a long time. Thanks for the link.
Maggie

I just seen that it was for Indiana. didn't realize it wasn't all of Indiana. Looks like my area I live in now had theirs in 2004. Sorry for those who live north though.

Like I said in my original post, I was camping in a TENT when they came up from the ground in 87. Awful to feel hundreds of those creepy things underneath you.

We also had them in 04. I love when they emerge. I think they are kind of cute but the noise is almost deafening. The one problem we had with the last emergence was the sudden appearance of rats! I completely freaked out. We are surrounded by woods and farmland and I'd never seen a rat here, mice yes but no rats. We had an exterminator set traps and they said that the rat population had exploded because the rats were gorging on the cicadas.
Karyn

I can't remember when "our year" was, but it was overhyped, IMO. I was expecting a heck of a lot more than we had gotten. The year before "our year", those shells were hanging everywhere. But "our year", hardly a shell. I don't mind them, unless one darts out from an azalea while walking by, and the darn thing getting stuck in my hair. Yep, it happened, and whenever I heard one in my vicinity, I start the ducking and shaking of the head. It really sucks when someone catches me doing that ;)

I kinda like them..sound of summer as far as I'm concerned. Here's one on my four o'clocks.

{{gwi:349948}}

Yep that a Tibicen species. they are annual cicada (they are here every year in comparatively small numbers). the 17 year cicadas are orange and black

I will never forget the year we lived in Nashville and endured that experience- 198?. Scheeschk. Blessings, taterbug

I have to smile....

They bring me back to when I was 4 or 5...loading them into wagons and carting them around. I like insects and I like to garden:) We are all part of this world.

My family moved to northern Wi and I have only experienced our annual cicadas....what I call heat bugs:)(cause they seem to start up when it heats up). So when a friend of mind from N. IL informed me of them...I was excited. Hope I get to experience them again....its been 30+ years.

m

I remember a large cicada emergence during my childhood, while visiting my grandparents in Columbus, Ohio (sometime in the mid-late 1970s). The noise was AMAZING, there's nothing else like it. The cicadas and their shed exoskeletons were EVERYWHERE. I was half fascinated, half creeped out. It was an incredible experience either way. We could hear them at home near Cleveland, too, but it was much noisier in Columbus.

For some reason, I don't remember any large cicada emergences in our part of Upstate NY (Southern Tier), and I've lived here since 1986. Maybe 2008 will be "our" year, from the Magicicada chart philmont posted.

Laurel

I've got a twofold problem. Those annual cicada's and their nemesis the cicada killers. Between the two, I don't know which is worse. The defening noise of the cicada's, or the frightening sight of the GIANT wasps (or the fact that they make horrible dirt mounds all over the place). I have been battling these things for years (cicada killers) because they terrify my children. Wish I could ship these off to those of you who could use them during the cicada infestation.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cicada Killer Wasps

fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you view the Magicicdas) The cicada killer wasps never emerge during the mass emergences. Magicicadas are only out from may to early june, and the annual cicadas emerge in very late june and throughout the rest of summer. The cicada killers are strictly annual eaters, and dont emerge themselves until around the annual cicadas do. The Magicicadas are thought to emerge between such long periods because it means no animal can rely on them as food, as very few wild animals will see them more than one in their lifetime. (there is however a species of fungus that emerges with the cicadas and infects many of them)

Personally, I love them. they are very interesting and do much more good than bad. They aerate the ground when they emerge, lay eggs in small branches and naturally prune the tree so next year there are many more flowers and fruit, when they die they put lots of nitrogen in the soil fertilizing it, and they feed just about every animal that has teeth.

"...naturally prune the tree..."

I am not sure how cutting a thousand gashes in the branches of each tree is really a good thing. I guess I can look at the scarred wounds and tell how much growth each tree has put on since the cicada emergence. I have never heard of any damage to perennials.

"...they feed just about every animal that has teeth"

I hear that some dogs really go to town...someone described it like a yard full of chicken nuggets. I did not see my dog eat any. I would say that it was a bit odd seeing the squirrels running around chomping on cicadas. I did not eat any!

- Brent

Valiche, I hear ya on the cicada killer wasps. I learned about them a couple of years ago - had *never* seen them before then and found the information on the web... sheesh, wasps on steroids, just what I needed!

I have only seen one pair in our yard for each of the past two years. The female isn't my problem as she digs her holes in a mulched slope that I don't have to look at anyway... it's that territorial male who dive-bombs anything that moves in the area! This means no gardening for me, and no playing in the yard for the kids when he's on duty.

I'm not sure how yet, but I may have to try to get rid of them this year when/if they arrive, although I hate to. The first year, I thought - they're helping reduce the cicada population. Now I find out the cicadas are annuals (didn't know there was such a thing, philmont! Just figured these cicadas were chronologically challenged and came out the wrong year, lol) and the CKW are probably not making much of a dent in that population. I dunno. Maybe we'll see how aggressive this year's CKW are first.