Georgia Officials Beg Residents To Stop Calling 911 Over Cicadas

Well, folks, with Memorial Day weekend in full effect, the season we've been waiting for has officially arrived – hot cicada summer. Yet as the bugs re-acquaint themselves with life above-ground for the first time in 17 years, in all their red-eyed, endlessly boinking glory, it seems their newfound presence has also brought out another brood – a swarm of cicada-hating Karens who apparently keep calling the cops on the latest group of periodical insects, according to The Hill.

On Saturday, Georgia officials shared that they've received “multiple 911 calls for ‘alarms’" that are “more than likely” just cicadas attempting to get some, and are now begging residents to stop snitching on their billions of tiny new neighbors attempting to bump uglies after an almost two-decade-long dry spell.

“This brood of cicadas emerges every 17 years and is endemic in most of the eastern United States,” the states Union County Fire/Rescue & EMA explained in a Facebook post. “They also have a range of different sounds they can produce, making them some of the loudest of all insects. It is often difficult to pinpoint where the sound is coming from and can sound like a vehicle or home alarm system. Their song can be loud enough to cause hearing loss as they can produce sounds up to 120 db. They feed on sap and do not have a major impact on agriculture but may overwhelm small plants. They cannot sting or bite but may mistake you for a tree branch.”

Considering the cicadas' annoying, loud, but generally harmless nature, authorities are advising residents to make sure the noise isn't the product of an aggressively horny insect before dialing the cops. “If you think you hear an alarm ensure that it is an alarm and determine the location before contacting authorities,” they continued. 

So folks, with summer upon us and Brood X in full force, take it from Georgia's seemingly exasperated emergency service workers – Don't be a cicada Karen.

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