Cicada Mania Is Here!!!

For 13 years they’ve hidden underground, growing large enough and strong enough to burst from the earth and claim a dozen Midwestern states, including Missouri—and including Eureka and Wildwood.

With fierce-looking red eyes and large, spindly wings, millions of the brood’s members will fill the late May air with their alien, mating cries—an extremely loud blend of clicking, buzzing and whining—ensuring the cicada species lives on.

They come to mate and lay their eggs, and really don't mean to do any harm. However, certain young trees, especially fruit trees, oaks and dogwoods, may endure some damage from slits made in the tree branches where the females lay their eggs.  If they do appear to be weighing down a newly planted tree, conservation experts recommend draping mosquito netting or cheesecloth over it, tied at the trunk. 

Local experts say little more can be done about cicadas, except to watch these creatures swarm.

Cicadas should be gone by the end of June, not to be seen again until 2024!