Videos Show Cicadas Taking Over Virginia Man's Garden as Brood X Emerges Around U.S.

A Virginia resident has captured images and videos of cicadas taking over his garden in overwhelming numbers.

Jeff Herge, 50, from Herndon snapped pictures of the insects as they emerged from the ground and then covered his fences and trees. Periodical cicadas are an insect species from the genus Magicicada that emerge from the ground only every 13 or 17 years across eastern North America.

The app Cicada Safari, which collects data on where the insects are emerging, said it has already collected more than 25,000 photographs of cicadas emerging in northern Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. The ones currently emerging out of the ground are referred to as "Brood X."

"Many of these reports are of small numbers suggesting the recent cold spell slowed things down," an update on the app read. "However, the week of May 17 looks to be warming up and that could trigger large numbers emerging. We also have some cicadas emerging in South Carolina."

Herge, a realtor and owner of a home-repair business, told Newsweek that he first noticed the cicadas in his garden last week and that some of his neighbors have also had a lot of them on their properties.

He said: "When the cicadas first came out it seemed like a lot. But then we came out the next day and it was almost overwhelming the amount of cicadas climbing up our trees and fence."

Although some people may find the sight of hundreds of cicadas in their garden disgusting, Herge was "excited" about the cicadas emerging.

"I find them interesting and perplexing, to have such an overwhelming infestation of them compared to other years," he said.

"I am not really afraid. I have too many bugs and kind of love these buggers. My feelings about the cicadas vary. Initially I'm all excited about their emergence, but I do recall the last time they came out and the vast numbers of them lying around dead in piles all over the place. That part is gross."

Entomologist George Hamilton at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, previously told Newsweek that while cicadas can be a nuisance to some people because of the large numbers that emerge and the day-long noise they create while trying to attract mates, the bugs don't pose any risk to humans or infrastructure.

The insects don't sting, they don't bite, and they don't spread diseases to humans.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Herge said. "I have had them climb all over me and for the most part they just tickle. Sometimes their legs scratch my skin a little, but again they don't hurt me."

While the bugs are harmless, Herge said people should bear in mind that the insects like to climb.

"If you are standing near a tree/fence or anywhere there is a lot of cicadas, be sure to know that they may climb up your shoes onto your pants and shirt. So, you may want to check yourself before you go into your house."