New Jersey Cicada Invasion 2024

There are what I like to call "signature sounds of warm weather" in New Jersey every season.

Some of these sounds are pleasant. The waves crashing, seagulls, in the distance, of course, and crickets chirping at night.

Get our free mobile app

Another signature sound of warm weather in New Jersey is the sound of cicadas.

Cicadas are harmless insects that are best known for the very loud sounds they make.

The males are the louder ones. The noise they make is to attract females.

Many find this sound to be relaxing. I find them to be annoying and distracting.

Canva

Well, get ready for an invasion of cicadas the likes of which none of us have ever seen.

How can I make that declaration? According to CBS News, this type of invasion hasn't happened since the Louisiana Purchase. It's safe to say no one who was around in the early 1800s is reading this right now.

Screaming, flying cicadas will soon make a reappearance – but it's not going to be your average spring emergence. For the first time since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, two broods of cicadas – XIX and XIII – will come out of the ground simultaneously after more than a decade of eating to transform into adults.

How many of these insects can we expect this year?

Oh, just about one trillion or so.

This isn't going to be a spotted lantern fly situation.

First, cicadas are not harmful to the environment, and they aren't seen as much as the spotted lantern fly.

Many factors come into play with these insect forecasts. Weather plays a big part.

What will the cicada invasion of 2024 in New Jersey be like? Only time will tell.