NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Cicadas may extend their stay in Middle Tennessee by a few additional days this summer due to cooler temperatures earlier this month.
"[The cicadas] will likely be stretched out a little further this year than years prior because we had an extended run of cool weather and it kind of delayed their development a little bit," David Bates, owner of Bates Nursery in Nashville, explained.
He told Nashville's News 2 that now that the weather has warmed up so has their activity. The cicadas, he says, "seem to be in full buzz right now."
Bates said besides being a noisy nuisance, the cicadas will cause little to no harm to trees and plants.
"They don't eat anything, they just come out and mate and lay eggs and come back again in 13 years," he said.
Many Mid-State residents told Nashville's News 2 they are ready for the bugs for to be gone for good.
"They're gross and disgusting," Rachel Brann said.
Ashton Smith voiced a similar opinion. "I don't hate being outside, but when they fly at me I'm not too excited about that," she said.
The last time the cicadas were in Tennessee was 1998. This year, they are expected to remain in the Mid-State through the middle of June.
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