Billions of Cicadas Are Coming to an Iowa Town Near You Next Spring

Iowans should prepare themselves for the great cicada invasion of 2024, as billions of the flying creatures will be descending on the Hawkeye State next spring.

How do we know for sure that cicadas will be ravaging Iowa fields, yards, and towns next year? Because, like clockwork, it happens exactly every 17 years, and the last time it took place was in the spring of 2007.

Get our free mobile app

What Part of Iowa Will See The Bulk of Cicadas?

In the late spring and early summer of 2007, the Cicada Brood XIII appeared in northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and southern Wisconsin. In some parts, up to 2 million of the flying bugs were spotted in a single acre.

In 2024, the Iowa counties that will be hit the hardest by Brood XIII include:

Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Cedar, Dubuque, Henry, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Louisa, Muscatine, Scott, and Tama.

What Can These Counties Expect With the Great Cicada Invasion of 2024?

Well, the good news is the cicadas will only be flying around eastern Iowa for a few weeks. And if you want more good news, they don't bite or sting, so there's nothing to be afraid of. However, they are known to destroy entire fields of crops and nearly every other food source in their path during those few weeks.

Once the cicadas breed and lay their eggs, their life cycle will be complete and you will begin to see millions of exoskeletons all over the place. They won't appear again until the spring of 2041.

To learn more about the Great Cicada Invasion of 2024, check out this article from the Cicada Mania Website.

Story Sources: Cicada Mania Website