Cicadas Set To Emerge Again In 13 States: What To Know About Brood XIV

Cicadas In April? It Could Happen In 13 States

If you live in one of 13 states in the eastern United States, your quiet, peaceful afternoons are about to be rudely interrupted.

Enter, the cicada – noisy and large (with wings!), these insects only emerge from the ground periodically, but in 2025, it's Brood XIV's turn. We haven't seen this particular brood since 2008, but they return above ground to mate once every 17 years.

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Catch Them In 2025, Or Wait Until 2042

Expect these red-eyed buggers to show up by the billions in parts of the East and South in late April or early May. They head toward the surface once the soil temperatures just below the surface reach 64 degrees, according to Cicada Mania, so they could appear a little sooner in the southern states.

Brood XIV is the second-largest of the 15 periodically emerging broods, according to the University of Connecticut. Only Brood XIX, which popped up last year across vast stretches of the eastern U.S., is larger.

It's important to note that cicadas won't flank every corner of all 13 states when Brood XIV emerges, but they are expected to be seen in at least parts of:

• Georgia

• Indiana

• Kentucky

• Massachusetts

• Maryland

• North Carolina

• New Jersey

• New York

• Ohio

• Pennsylvania

• Tennessee

• Virginia

• West Virginia

Hey, They Don't Bite (Or Sting!)

If you like to get up close and personal with big bugs, you're in luck – cicadas aren't harmful to humans in any way, so feel free to get a good look when they arrive.

In fact, they're great for your yard, as they aerate lawns and can help with filtering water into the ground, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And once they've mated and died off, their decomposition is also nutritious for the soil, the EPA also said.

There's no need for pesticide sprays, but the EPA does warn that if you have young trees, protect against damage that could be caused by egg-laying; this can be a mesh covering with small openings.