Hello. I'm in the DC area. They say it is the "big year" for cicadas... does anyone really know what that means? How long does it last? Are they so many that when you walk you crunch them? Will they be in the swimming pools? will the kids be able to play outside??? Much less garden???

You're talking about the 17-year cicadas or locust. I'm not sure what's their correct name but I grew up in your area and definitely remember them in 1987 and in 1970 when I was a kid. I don't remember how long it lasts (couple weeks maybe?) but it most definitely effects your outdoor activities. Yes, they'll get in your pool, yes there will be enough in some places that it will crunch as you step on them. Can you play and garden outside? Sure! It just depends on you and your kids attitude toward bugs. They're not dangerous, don't bite, but are pretty large and ugly looking. They don't seem to have very good control over where they fly so they'll often bash into people or things. I remember girls screaming because they'd sometimes get caught in their long hair. As a young boy, I thought the whole thing was pretty cool. I remember my friends and I throwing live ones at each other and at girls and also daring each other to walk barefoot through a pile of them. Snakes, snails, puppy dog tails is the kind of boy I was.

I actually worked for a county extension office during the '87 cicadas and I remember them telling people don't panic about your garden or anything else in your yard. They will cause minimal damage and I think it's mostly confined to trees anyway. I remember when they die off you might find some larger stinky piles of the carcasses. I wasn't composting back then so I don't know for sure, but I bet they'd add some great nutrients to your compost!

The only thing I woudn't do is plan an outdoor wedding reception or large picnic while they're around because they will end up in people's food and drinks. Not because they want the food but because they'll be so many of them at times and like I said earlier, they're not the best aviators.

Have fun with it and remember you're getting to experience one of nature's more rare events. Heck, it's making me kind of nostalgic for D.C. just talking about it. Maybe I'll make a point of visiting some friends down there while it's going on!

I'm in Southcentral PA and what I remember about cicadas is the noise. They are very LOUD!! I remember working in a tree, cutting down a dead branch and one cicada started up near me. I had to get down and do the work later. It actually hurt my ear it was so loud. I think they make their noise by rubbing their legs (or wings) together.

SW Ohio's brood is hatching this summer too.

it last 2 to 3 weeks. the Cicadas do not eat anything but their egg laying can be hard on young trees. there will be billions of them they get on everything in massive numbers.

I have never gardened with them around. I'm thinking row covers will help a lot.

I live in the woods in South Jersey and every summer is the year of the cicadas. They start singing in July, when the humidity starts and continue until the nights start to get cool in the fall. They ARE loud, drowning out the crickets. When I first moved here, they really creept me out, but I've come to accept them as part of what lives here. Now if only I could say the same thing for the yellow hornets.

Kate