(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — After weeks of deafening noise and clumsy flying, the cicada emergence is dying down.
An expert at the Morton Arboretum in west suburban Lisle said homeowners will soon be able to remove netting from young trees.
Plant Clinic Manager Spencer Campbell says if you’re still hearing cicadas, then you’ll want to keep your young trees covered.
Female cicadas cut slits into small branches to lay their eggs, which can lead to flagging or dead leaves and branches.
“Only 1% of all eggs that have been laid will actually make it the full 17 years. So what I mean to say is that she's going to lay a few extra,” Campbell said.
Campbell says it’s a form of pruning that is not a big deal for most trees. Homeowners will be able to remove netting from vulnerable trees in about a week to ten days.
“It came on schedule. You know, we expected them to come around the middle of May and be done around the middle of June,” Campbell said.
“So even 17 years have passed, and their life cycle hasn't changed a whole lot.”
Interest in the emergence has led to a higher than expected number of visitors at the arboretum this and last month, as well as calls from as far away as Canada and Germany.
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