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The Brood X Cicadas Are Back: An Update from U Md Extension Specialist Stanton Andrew Gill

A member of the Brood Ten (X) population of 17-year periodical cicadas, Magicicada septemdecim, now emerging across Maryland and the Eastern United States.
University of Maryland Extension Service
A member of the Brood X (Ten) population of 17-year periodical cicadas, Magicicada septemdecim, now emerging across Maryland and the Eastern United States.

Billions of the 17-year cicadas will soon be swarming and making a racket in our neighborhoods, but an expert says we shouldn't be too worried.

We open today's edition of Back to the Garden with an update on something else that's getting back to the garden this month. In many parts of our listening area, back by entomological inevitability, the Brood X (Ten) cicadas are once again making a grand entrance onto the scene, for the first time since 2004.

In just a little bit, we’ll check in with Denzel Mitchell, the Deputy Director of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore and Carrie Engel of Valley View Farms Nursery in Cockeysville. They’ll answer any questions you have about your gardens.

But first, we're joined by Professor Stanton Andrew Gillof the University of Maryland Extension. He’s a specialist in integrated pest management and entomology. He also teaches in the Montgomery College Landscape Technology Program.

Stanton Andrew Gill is a plant and insect Specialist with University of Maryland Extension
UMd Extension
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Stanton Gill
Stanton Andrew Gill is a plant and insect Specialist with University of Maryland Extension

Professor Gill, whose lab is located at the UMd's Central Maryland Research and Education Center, has written about the Brood X cicada emergence on the UMd Extension website, and he joins us now on Zoom to fill us in...
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Learn more about cicadas on the UME website. Just enter "cicada" in the search box.

Professor Gill also recommends sending your gardening questions and problems to UMd Extension's Home & Garden Information Center (HGIC). Click "Ask Extension," type in your question, attach photos, and you'll get a helpful answer in 1-2 days.

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