![Illinois Peeps, Beware: Cicadas Pose a Threat to Tiny Trees](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/04/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-04-30T164012.505.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Illinois Peeps, Beware: Cicadas Pose a Threat to Tiny Trees
After lying dormant for 17 years, a massive cicada brood will emerge from the ground and do very little.
Cicadas mostly lose half their body, mate, lay eggs, and pee on unsuspecting humans from trees. In a nutshell, that's what the summer of 2024 will be like.
Oh yeah, they also make plenty of noise. Cicadas also carry a fungus, which luckily won't harm us.
Keep Reading: Illinois' Cicadas Are Really Loud - Here's Why
CICADAS EFFECT ON BABY TREES
Then there's the baby trees. Those gross bugs can damage newly planted saplings, like the one pictured below.
Oh, yes, that's my tree, barely past the sapling stage, which I had five of planted late last fall.
![97 ZOK logo](https://townsquare.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WZOKFM.png?w=100)
I was unaware that cicadas could threaten these tiny little guys then.
Reviewed on USA Today says, "Newly planted trees and woody plants with stems up to one-half-inch in diameter are vulnerable to damage from cicadas, which suck out sap and cut slits in tree branches to lay clutches of eggs."
That sounds gross, and I hope it doesn't happen to my trees.
Luckily, there is at least one thing new tree owners can do to survive the "cicadapocalypse."
NETTING NEW TREES TO KEEP CICADAS AWAY
The article suggests wrapping trees with "one-centimeter or smaller netting to keep cicadas off."
You can do a couple of other things in case your tree suffers a cicada attack.
By the time 2024 wraps up, we may very well refer to the cicada as Illinois' official state insect, but did you know it's something else? See below.
Quiz: Do you know your state insect?
Gallery Credit: Andrew Vale
LOOK: The 25 least expensive states to live in
Gallery Credit: Aubrey Jane McClaine
See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State
Gallery Credit: Sarah Jones
More From 97 ZOK
![Wisconsin DNR Says Don’t Steal Cicadas & Here’s Why (It’s Gross)](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/06/attachment-benoit-gauzere-f2qigLKvR3Y-unsplash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Buzz Off! Here’s When Illinois Will Officially Be Cicada-Free](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/06/attachment-cicadas-on-trees.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Illinois Woman Barricades Herself in Car to Avoid Cicada Invasion](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/06/attachment-cicada-invasion.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Big World Record-Sized Koi Removed from Midwestern Lake](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-FI-Koi.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![7 Best New Foods at the Wisconsin State Fair](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-FI-WI-Fair.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![All The Illinois Athletes Competing for Team USA in Paris Olympics](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-FI-IL-Olympians.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Discover The Top Workout Trend In Illinois: Yoga Vs. Pilates](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2018/03/RS14477_162383291.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Most Expensive Turkey Leg In The Midwest Is In Wisconsin](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-giant-turkey-leg.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Why There Are So Many Earwigs in Wisconsin This Year](http://townsquare.media/site/721/files/2024/07/attachment-FI-Earwigs.jpg?w=980&q=75)