17-year Periodical Cicadas are in the news in 2021 with the expected emergence of Brood X across a large portion of the mid-Atlantic states and a portion of the Midwest. Washington DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Cincinnati are all cities that sit in the middle of the action. In Ohio, this brood emerges in the region between Cincinnati and Columbus with a few isolated reports in other parts of the state. In Zanesville, OH, we do not expect any major impact from this brood. It is conceivable that we could experience some cicadas, particularly if you believe you experienced them in 2004, but the expectation for this is limited in our area. A map of the geographic distribution of Brood X can be found here.
The major concerns that arise with cicadas are largely nuisance issues such as noise, large divebombing fliers, messiness, superficial damage to established trees, and potential fatal damage to newly planted poorly established trees.
The last emergence in Zanesville occurred in 2016 from Brood 5, which also emerged in 1999. This is a separate population from what is emerging in 2021.
Further Reading
Brood X | Cicadas (uconn.edu)
Periodical Update: Cicada Observations and Educational Opportunities | BYGL (osu.edu)
