KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In 2021, a brood of cicadas emerged in East Tennessee and brought songs that filled summer nights. Now, in 2024, something similar will happen with two broods of cicadas emerging at the same time.
Brood XIX is the 13-year Great Southern Brood. Tennessee can expect to see this one, but not state-wide. It will affect some southeast parts of the state, with most emerging in Middle Tennessee.
"The last time that we had both the 17-year and the 13-year overlap was when Thomas Jefferson was the president," said the General Manager of Clear Defense Pest Control. "And the next time that we're going to get it will be in the year 2245."
If you're wondering how many to expect, the number is in the billions.
"Millions, millions of them per hectare," said Douglas Airhart, a professor of horticulture at Tennessee Tech. "Millions per acre."
Airhart has spent years studying the effects of cicada broods. The females lay eggs in young trees. The last time this brood came out, in 2007 and 2011, it wreaked havoc on nurseries and orchards. And in the past, their emergence was costly.
"Millions of dollars of damages were recorded, because some of the nurseries had insurance and they claim insurance, you had to record your damages," Airhart said.
You can buy cicada mesh at any hardware store or on Amazon to wrap your trees and protect them from cicadas.