Cicada swarm overwhelms Richmond: “They’re everywhere”

Three species emerge at once in rare 17-year event swarming Central Kentucky

RICHMOND, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – The nonstop screeching of cicadas has become the soundtrack to life across Central Kentucky as a rare insect invasion takes over the region.

In Richmond, residents say they’ve had enough.

“They’re everywhere, I mean the on the ground, they’re on your fence, and they fly on you,” said Lottie Williams, a longtime Richmond resident.

The region is experiencing a rare overflow of three cicada broods that only occurs once every 17 years. The result has been a deafening roar in backyards, parks, and neighborhoods. and bugs landing on just about everything.

“And it’s so loud, I had one get on my ear, it was awful, it was just like it attacked me, but it was just sitting there and I was like ‘get it, get it,’” said Richmond residents Billie Alcorn.

Williams said the noise is affecting her daily life.

“I mean you can’t enjoy being outside, I come back inside and my ears are ringing, I can’t understand how Bear and Zelda, my pets enjoy being outside,” she said. “Because even at the Tasty Tuesday, I wanted to wear earmuffs to cover my ears, you couldn’t hear anything,” said Williams.

And escaping by car offers no relief. Residents say the insects are so thick, they can hear them hitting their vehicles while driving.

“Yeah it’s bad, we were on our way back from Lexington yesterday in the car, they were smacking just ‘pop pop,’ and it was hitting the roof,” said Richmond Resident Pete Closs. “The woman I was with she was like ‘how are they hitting the roof,’ they’re everywhere.” said Closs.

“Drive on the highway and it just covers your windshield, and the windshield wipers, the fluid, it doesn’t take it off,” Williams added.

Experts say the cicada emergence is expected to last through the end of June. For many in Richmond, that’s four more weeks of a natural event they won’t forget.