Watch millions of cicadas invade the US 0:54
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Rosalie Lacorazza has already seen two 17-year cicada cycles and fears what lies ahead.
As brood X cicadas begin to emerge by the billions this month across the eastern United States and the Washington area, Lacorazza said he will not be at risk.
"I will return to the customs of the early days of the pandemic, in which I did not leave home, did not see anyone and ordered everything at home," said Lacorazza, a resident of Arlington, Virginia.
The last major apparition, in 2004, left her traumatized when a cicada smashed into her hair as she was walking to lunch with a friend.
From the fright he jumped into a street.
"I have lived like this for the last 12 or 13 months," says Lacorazza about returning to his confinement to avoid cicadas.
What is six more weeks?
They are coming, and soon
The mass exodus this spring has not yet happened, but it is imminent.
And reactions to it vary.
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Millions of cicadas will emerge in the US 2:48
Some think that cicadas are fascinating and eagerly await their arrival, while others lament because they think they are a nuisance.
There are those, however, who get nervous and worry about flying insects.
There are already reports of recent and isolated sightings of cicadas in North Carolina and Georgia, according to CicadaMania.com, a website dedicated to what it calls "the world's most amazing insects."
In the coming weeks, these 3.5-centimeter, red-eyed winged insects are expected to emerge in 16 states, including New York, Kentucky, Virginia and Illinois, as well as the District of Columbia, during an event lasting about 40 inches. days.
Males usually come out first, explains James English, an animal ecologist and adjunct professor at the Bethesda Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Maryland, who did his doctoral work on periodical cicadas and has studied them for decades.
Over the course of a week, the insects emerge at night, climb a tree or bush, and shed their exoskeletons, he explains.
"They take several hours to detach and then the wings fill with blood and harden."
Cicadas spend the next three weeks singing to attract females, who deposit their larvae in grooves they scrape in the tender bark of tree branches.
The young hatch from the eggs after six to eight weeks.
In late summer or early fall, the next generation heads underground to feed on the sap from tree roots, and the cycle continues.
"They are not going to chase you," says English.
"They are not great fliers, so they may collide with you by accident, but they are not strong fliers like a bee or a house fly."
However, for some people that is not a great comfort.
The inhabitants of the cicada area are preparing
Michelle Matlack says she's not scared of cicadas, but she doesn't like bugs on her face.
The Annandale, Va., Resident purchased a $ 30 beekeeper's suit so she could continue spending time comfortably outdoors with neighbors during her weekly pandemic-inspired happy hour.
"Partly it's a joke, but partly it's to keep up this social activity that has become important to me," Matlack said of the suit.
During the 2004 cicada event, he "could have filled wheelbarrows" with the corpses that were piling up in his backyard, he said.
"I imagine that being there with the neighbors, someone would freak out and I would take off my bee suit and say, 'Here, put this on,'" Matlack said.
"It could turn out to be a great investment."
Fear and anxiety are real
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There are people who really fear the appearance of baby X.
"Fear of insects is a common phobia," says clinical psychologist Colleen Cira, founder of the Cira Center for Behavioral Health in Chicago.
"There are a lot of people who fall somewhere on the spectrum from being anxious about insects to people with complete, diagnosable phobias."
For people who are only mildly afraid of the appearance of cicadas, activities like deep breathing, yoga, meditation, journaling and talking to a trusted friend can help, Cira said.
You are not crazy.
It really is a difficult time in life.
And there are several ways to deal with anxiety and uncertainty.
"Going out in nature won't work with this," he said.
For people with a genuine phobia, the arrival of calf X will present some particular challenges, said clinical psychologist Karen Cassiday, founder of The Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago.
If you've ever been held underwater in a pool for too long as a kid and scared of dying, he said, you can empathize with the fear some people have right now.
"For someone who has a phobic response, it is that painful and terrifying," he said.
Empathy and exposure therapy can help
Try to understand and empathize with what someone with an insect phobia is going through.
"When someone has a phobia of insects, the thing they fear most is physical contact," says Cassiday.
“That's what can make staying home or covering up so compelling.
When you have anxiety, it is disproportionate to the situation, "he said, and usually people who have anxiety are aware of it.
People who don't have an anxiety disorder and who "might be nice in other circumstances might think it's fun to make fun of people who do," Cassiday said.
However, that is the wrong way to answer.
"If you want to be a good friend or colleague, the first thing is to understand that it is not fun for the other person," he said.
"It's extreme, it feels horrible."
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Telling people that the bugs are harmless and that they help aerate the soil (both are true) and that the natural phenomenon is amazing to witness doesn't help either, he said.
"Say things like, 'I wish I could help you make it easier.'
Ask if there is anything you can do, ”he says.
"Typically, the response you will receive is 'Thank you for understanding.'
As much as she wants everyone to get help for their phobias, Cassiday said that certain phobias can be episodic.
"You can live your life and be fine with it, except when there is an unusual event."
For people with a cicada phobia who want to control it, he said exposure treatments that involve learning about the insects, getting close to them, and even touching them can help.
Cira also recommended exposure therapy to people with insect phobias and others.
"If it is negatively affecting your ability to function and live your life, you can seek professional help," he said.
"It does not have to be this way".
Knowing that you are not alone can also be a source of support.
"My opinion is that we are going to have people who are going to somehow reveal their insect phobia because this is really unusual," Cassiday said.
—Terry Ward is a freelance writer based in Tampa, Florida.
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