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Cicadas are making so much noise that residents are calling the police in South Carolina

Emerging cicadas are so loud in one South Carolina county that residents are calling the sheriff's office asking why they can hear a "noise in the air that sounds like a siren, or a whine, or a roar."

The Newberry County Sheriff's Office posted a message on Facebook on Tuesday letting people know that the whining sound is just the male cicadas singing to attract mates after more than a decade of being dormant.

Some people have even flagged down deputies to ask what the noise is all about, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said.

The noisiest cicadas were moving around the county of about 38,000 people, about 40 miles northwest of Columbia, prompting calls from different locations as Tuesday wore on, Foster said.

Their collective songs can be as loud as jet engines and scientists who study them often wear earmuffs to protect their hearing.

After Tuesday, Foster understands why.

"Although to some, the noise is annoying, they pose no danger to humans or pets," Foster wrote in his statement to county residents. "Unfortunately, it is the sounds of nature."
Flourish logoA Flourish map

Cicadas are already emerging in southern states, like South Carolina, where it warms up faster, while in cooler states, such as those in the upper Midwest, they might not emerge until June.

This year, two broods of cicadas are emerging: Brood XIX, which comes out every 13 years, will emerge in Georgia and the Southeast, and Brood XIII, which emerges every 17 years, will appear in Illinois.

This will be the first time since 1803 that two broods emerged simultaneously. The next time this happens will be 2037. With this convergence, the bugs will arrive in numbers that have not been seen in generations.

The dual cicada brood emergence will primarily be seen in parts of Illinois and Iowa, as well as parts of Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cicadas-loud-south-carolina-residents-calling-police-newberry-county/

At first I'm like "calling the police??" 🤣


I never realized there were so many different broods until looking into this about a month ago. They are also very geographical, so it's a "right place/right time" thing, almost like the eclipse.

The great news for me is we booked our large family reunion at a resort in Virginia, in late June, which could be on the edge of some serious chicanery.

Kudos to the production team on this bit.

The jangly string section music in the background was ingenious.
Nothing beats a string section of over 40 players all plucking their instruments to evoke the creepiness of insects.

I don't think I've seen, nor heard, a single one this spring.

Me as well.

However, came home Monday after being gone 4 days and the Canadian Geese had overtaken our pond. Mom and dad, and 5 ducklings, and another mom and dad with 4 ducklings. And goose crap EVERYWHERE! Even on the porch. Now THAT is an invasion which made our yard look like a sewage plant.

I politely explained to the geese they were NOT welcome here.

Did they get the message?
I sure hope so.

Canada Geese are a scourge.
They give nothing, take anything they want, and strut around like they own your property.

I place them in the same social category as pigeons and gulls.


If you can send them packing, more power to ya.


on the thread topic: all quiet here, as well.
Typically, our cicadas don't come out for another 2-3 months. They're more mid-summer arrivals.

Here in Tennessee, at least my part they are out in force, but our ground temps don't get as cold here as they do for many of you up north, thus the ground heats up sooner. For the last 10 days or so I have had to sweep the dead or near dead off the porch. And I live in a fairly urban setting. When heading to a more wooded area, they are everywhere. Just a constant buzz from the trees.

Worry not, we'll soon have the mayfly invasion to tide us over.

And that's the key to Cicadas. The ground temperature. They will come a little later in colder climates. We have plenty of them here in Nashville. Of course the woods is right behind my house so it's a prime cicada ground.

I love the crunchy sound they make under a car's tires.

Yes, they got the message.