Cicada Invasion The Cicada Swarm
Brace for Impact
How the Cicada Invasion Impacts Your Animals
By Christy Caplan
Animals, including cattle, are known to be adaptable under many different circumstances. Will they be bothered by trillions of cicadas this spring? Cattle, goats, pigs and horses are startled by motion and certain environmental noises. Yet, most livestock can readily adapt to reasonable levels of continuous sound, such as a humming noise or instrumental music.
What if you don’ t own goats but live with a few dogs and a barn cat? Outdoor cats and dogs that spend much of the day roaming a few acres may gorge on these crunchy bugs if given the chance, and cats will decide whether to kill one, eat it or see if it fights back.
PJ Liesch, the bug guy and Extension Entomologist at the UW-Madison Department of Entomology, told AcreageLife that two different broods of cicadas( brood 13 are 17-year cicadas, and brood 19 are 13-year cicadas) are emerging simultaneously this spring. This will be an event that hasn’ t occurred since 1803 when Thomas Jefferson was president. There will be isolated pockets. Cicadas feed on the roots of trees as juveniles, and trillions will emerge if you’ re in a hot spot. Northern Illinois and Wisconsin are both hot spots for brood 13. Brood 19 is in the southern half of Illinois and across the south.
The emergence of cicada nymphs is tied to the temperature of the soil at a depth of eight inches and decent rainfall. Typically, they emerge when the soil temperature reaches around 64 F.