Chicago and Cook County make preparations for cicada invasion
CHICAGO (CBS) — The cicadas will be coming any day now.
CBS 2 has been reporting about their arrival for months. We're set to see billions of the creepy crawly creatures, and communities are preparing for them.
Greenspace within the city—it's beautiful, right? Drexel Boulevard in the Kenwood neighborhood is a historic boulevard that has been undisturbed for the last 17 years. It's also prime cicada land, and every department is gearing up to respond to it.
Honey locust trees stand majestically along the boulevard. But to John Lough, senior forester for the City of Chicago who has been with the city for 27 years, each honey locust is more than just a tree.
"This would be a cicada hotel. This would be what they look for," Lough said.
And with cicada hotels all over the city, 582,000 of them to be specific, how are departments like his gearing up to handle them?
"If the cicadas start accumulating in the streets and along the sidewalks, we do have street sweepers who will be out regularly," Lough said.
Illinois is the center of emergence, which means we will see more cicadas than anywhere else in the country. The area can expect billions, possibly trillions of them, buzzing around Chicago.
Across Illinois, two different broods will crawl out of the ground at once, something that hasn't happened since Thomas Jefferson was president. A 13-year brood will be centered downstate, while the Chicago area will see a 17-year brood.
Lough was with the city for the last emergence of the 17-year brood in 2007. He said the city is all ready.
"Absolutely, we are ready, and we are looking forward to it," he said. "People don't realize it, but they're there right now. Waiting to come out."
Lough is also ready for phone calls. But he said people need to know these cicadas are harmless and non-toxic, and are only a concern for young trees, which can be covered.
Meanwhile, Chicago departments aren't the only ones gearing up. Tara Orbon is with the Cook County's Department of Transportation and Highways.
They're looking at the incoming siege of cicadas like they look at something they're all too familiar with: storms.
"When there's a storm in the fall, sometimes all the leaves fall at once, right? But we have a lot of vehicles on the roadway. Sometimes the wind pushes them away, and sometimes the vehicles do," Orbon said.
Her message? The cicadas can be distracting, but keep your eyes and ears on the roads.
The Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways maintains about 1,600 miles of roads, and more than 130 bridges. Orbon said the department has the equipment to address anything.
"We have snow plows," she said. "If it ever came down to it? We are ready to handle anything Mother Nature sends our way."
The city said it is prepared too.
"Absolutely, we are ready, and we are looking forward to it, " Lough said. "People don't realize it, but they're there right now. Waiting to come out."
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County has a link to different events and information associated with cicadas in the area.
CBS 2 also reached out to several suburbs to find out about their cicada preparation plans. Their representatives issued the following statements:
Evergreen Park: "We don't have any notable preparations in the works. We will be monitoring newly planted trees for signs of damage and will take action if needed. If my recollection is correct, we didn't have it too bad the last time the cicadas were here. Hopefully that will be the case again."
La Grange: "The Village is monitoring the hatching of broods and has consulted with its forester to ensure that reasonable steps are taken if necessary. No advanced steps taken at this time."
Schaumburg: "Staff is currently discussing this topic to determine if there is anything that would be appropriate to do in response to the situation. As of right now, the village does not have anything specific that is being implemented."
Homewood: "We aren't prepping any nets around trees – we have roughly 4,000 trees in Homewood. We did notify residents to not plant any new trees, so they wouldn't succumb to the branch damage because they wouldn't be strong enough as young trees.
"Areas with undisturbed soil and older, mature trees will see the most cicadas."
CBS 2 has more on the cicada invasion ready to hit the Chicago area.
