Cicadas and the Midwest

So we leave for our two week park trip to the Midwest/East coast starting June 1st. We had planned out almost everything at this point, then I see this on the front page of Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070520/ap_on_re_us/cicada_invasion

The parks we will be visiting are in this order:

Arrive in Detroit June 2nd-

Six Flags Great Adventure
Dorney Park
Hershey Park
Geauga Lake
Kings Island
Beech Bend
Holiday World
Six Flags Great America
Cedar Point (Coaster Mania)

We have pretty much axed out SFGAm in exchange for Dollywood, to avoid these guys. My first question is, are these bugs as bad as the stories seem to make them out to be? Second would be, what other parks/states will we see them in on our trip? I have a feeling they will be unavoidable, so the question is how bad is the experience going be?

My girlfriend and I want the least amount of contact with these suckers as possible, and now we have two weeks to re-work a trip that has been planned for 6 months.

We seriously thought of everything but this it would seem. :)

Thanks for any info,

--SM *** Edited 5/21/2007 5:08:34 AM UTC by Sean Menefee***

Personally I don't think they're bad enough to warrant a change in your trip. The biggest problem is the noise and then all the dead carcasses when everything's over with. More of a problem for locals than tourists if you ask me. Why such the aversion?

From what I understand, Cicadas don't bite or sting...they'll occasionally fly into humans if they're stupid...but for the most part, they stick to trees and things. Besides, who knows if the park does some sort of crop dusting or cicada prevention. But they're harmless creatures...all they're interested in is mating.

Not huge fans of huge bugs for the most part. We're trying to get a good feel for what other people think about them, and have heard a large mix in stories. Nothing is set in stone yet, but were looking for alternatives and bit of feedback before we change anything.

Thanks again guys,

--Sean *** Edited 5/21/2007 5:21:09 AM UTC by Sean Menefee***

As mentioned before they are generally found on trees. They aren't the most graceful of flyers and I don't think they fly too far when they do leave the ground. They're harmless, nothing to fear.

One piece of advice, don't bother fishing in an area with a cicada outbreak. The fish will be plenty full already. ;)

Lol, that's something I'll keep in mind. Now If I could only calm the woman down on the idea of "flying shrimp" as she puts it.

--Sean

OTOH, I would certainly hate to hit one of those suckers while riding a coaster. Ouch! If you haven't been to a particular park I would 'risk' it anyway. :)

We actually addressed the issue two years ago on the HoliBlog: http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2005/07/year-late.html.

I wouldn't worry.

Enjoy your trip!

Paula

We had cicadas out here in Virginia in 2004. While they were indeed all over the place, I mostly felt sorry for the bugs. They are either stupid or blind and thus fly straight into things all the time. But yes, they dont sting or bite and are relatively harmless. I would equate it to a super-sized version of the midges that pop up @ Cedar Point each June: messy but harmless.

One thing to watch out for though, if you have a dog, be careful that the dog doesnt eat too many cicadas. There were several instances of ppls dogs getting sick from over-indulging. I guess the bugs taste good to dogs (and they are easy prey).

Every couple of years this comes up, and people act like it's the end of the world. Life ends up going on every time.

But what if this time..... it's different?

Da-da-daaaaa.

:)

-Tambo

Whatever you do, keep your mouth closed when riding coasters.
;)

They don't hurt people, but the can mess up the air intake on your AC or Central Air unit.

A few years ago, we were hiking Nelsons Ledges when they came out of the ground. It was pretty cool to watch.

I remember "crunching" my way out to the car late at night the last time I experienced them at Cedar Point. :) That was quite a while ago.

Are you sure it wasn't mayflies? Those are the crunchy annual pests at CP.

I guess it could have been mayflies. I was pretty young then. Since I havn't seen them since, I just assumed it was the more rarely seen Cicadas. Either was, it was a fairly strange experience.

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Jeff said:
Every couple of years this comes up, and people act like it's the end of the world. Life ends up going on every time.

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I'm pretty sure I didn't say anything about the world ending, (unless you're talking about the link I posted.) We honestly don't see stuff like this in California so I figured the best place to ask would be here. To everyone else who gave great feedback it's much appreciated, you have helped out a bunch with our planning.

Sean "Thanks Paula, for the Holiday World info!" Menefee *** Edited 5/22/2007 12:10:33 AM UTC by Sean Menefee***

Here in Florida the Drought is causing a dramatic increase in the number of "Luv Bugs". These are a kind of fly where the Male and Female stick to each other while flying. Cars get pelted with them as they travel down the Freeway, and if you don't clean them off your car immediatly they leave a Permanant Mark on your Car's Finish! I don't know whats worse, these Bugs or Gas Prices! :(

Answer my Prayers: Overbook my next Flight!

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Jeff said:
Are you sure it wasn't mayflies? Those are the crunchy annual pests at CP.

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As for me, I would much rather avoid mayfly time at the Point. Night time during the outbreak is just nasty.

A couple of years ago, my mom was apparently wearing exactly the right color for the mayflies because while standing in line for MF, she accumlated tons of them on her back, and I mean TONS of them.