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Here's where 17-year cicadas are the worst in Cincinnati, Southwest Ohio. See the map
They're causing chaos at King's Island. They're being blamed for car crashes.
Millions of not billions of 17-year cicadas in Brood XIV have emerged in Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio. And even though they've been around for weeks, they are still making themselves known: Screaming from plants and trees, making a mess and peeing on everything.
But their time is growing short. Gene Kritsky, professor emeritus of biology with Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, said in a June 16 email that people in the areas heaviest with cicadas should start "to notice things getting quieter next week."
What areas are those? Here's where the largest number of cicadas have been in the Greater Cincinnati area, according to Kritsky.
Kritsky, founder of Cicada Safari, an app that crowdsources and reviews data on cicadas, was out mapping the 17-year cicada emergence as recently as Monday, June 16, said the heaviest presence of 17-year cicadas have been in Loveland and Mason, northeast of Cincinnati, as well as Pattison Park in Batavia and East Fork State Park in Bethel, both roughly 25 miles east of the Queen City.
According to the map generated by Cicada Safari, where users can submit reports of cicada sightings, there have been tens of thousands of reports in Cincinnati and its northern suburbs. But if you head south, crossing the Ohio River into Northern Kentucky, cicada reports dwindle until you hit Louisville and Lexington, per the map.
So when will these cicadas go away?
The 17-year cicadas are only around for a few weeks, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as they seek mates and lay eggs for the next generation. And while they started to emerge in mid-May, they are still going strong. Kritsky attributed the slow emergence to cooler, rainy days in May. Cicadas need the soil temperatures to hit 64 degrees to emerge, per ODNR, which typically happens in the second half of May.
Following his recent mapping excursion, Kritsky said the big die-off has not yet begun. "The cicadas are still mostly in the trees singing," he said in a June 17 email.
But he expects it to start soon.
"People should notice the loud singing declining over the next two weeks, and the singing should be over in early July," he said previously.
Brood XIV is one of 15 recognized broods of periodical cicadas that emerge every 13 or 17 years, and one of four that appear in the Buckeye State, according to ODNR.
They are active for three to four weeks as they focus on mating and reproduction, per ODNR. Male periodical cicadas produce a deafening chorus of calls to attract females. Once mated, female cicadas deposit their eggs into the branches of trees and shrubs.
Annual cicadas emerge worldwide each year, but periodical cicadas are found only in eastern North America. They live underground as nymphs for either 13 or 17 years before emerging above ground in massive numbers. Different populations of periodical cicadas are called 'broods' and are numbered with Roman numerals.
One of the biggest tourist attractions in Southwest Ohio — Kings Island, in Mason — is also in the center of one of the largest cicada emergences. And some visitors have taken to TikTok to share their disgust, the Enquirer reported on June 11.
Videos show people ducking to get away from the bugs, or just running off in some cases. And their screaming is audible in each one.
Kritsky told Scripps News Services that he has one important piece of advice for Kings Island visitors.
"Just enjoy the cicadas, and when you're on the ride, keep your mouth closed," he said.
Brood XIV cicadas of 2025 will stretch from northern Georgia to Massachusetts. In Ohio, they were expected to emerge in a more than dozen counties, per ODNR, mostly in Southwest Ohio:
Adams
Brown
Butler
Champaign
Clermont
Clinton
Gallia
Greene
Hamilton
Highland
Jackson
Lawrence
Pike
Ross
Scioto
Warren
Washington
Some of the edge counties will not see as heavy an emergence as others.
The cicadas that emerge every 13 or 17 years are different from the ones seen every summer, and it's not just the amount of time.
Kritsky told WKRN in Nashville that periodical cicadas emerge in May or June, while annual cicadas show up later, in late June and July, and through the rest of summer.
The two types also look different from each other. Periodical cicadas have black bodies with red eyes and red-orange wings and can be anywhere from three-quarters of an inch to an inch and one-quarter in length. Annual cicadas have dark green to black bodies with green-veined wings and black eyes and are larger. They can grow to an inch and one-third in length.
Any animal that can eat insects will eat cicadas, according to the Purdue University Extension. Those include fish, bears, birds, raccoons and even other insects, like parasitic wasps.
They're also safe for your dog to eat, to a point.
According to the American Kennel Club, a dog that eats the occasional cicada should be fine. However, dogs that gorge on cicadas will find their exoskeletons difficult to digest, resulting in an upset stomach, abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Some dogs that overconsume cicadas may require a trip to the vet for IV fluids, or pain and anti-nausea medications.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here's where cicadas are the worst in Cincinnati, Ohio. See the map
