Struggle to Keep Nelly and Max from Consuming Mass Amounts of Exoskeletons

[tlwtheq]

The Brood (of cicadas) continue to buzz away...very loudly!  We can't let Nelly and Max unattended in the back yard; they will come inside full of exoskeletons and puke them up...multiple times.  We have resorted to leash walks, alone, for outside time.  Man!  The exoskeletons are so thick you can scoop them up with a humongous  scooping tool!

[Sam I Am]

Wow living where I do, have never heard or seen a cicada! I hear it can be deafening...amazing. One thing we do have this time of year which not only drives us crazy but also bites are tiny flies that bite and leave large itchy bumps that lasts for days. We call them no seemums or midgies.They bite the dogs tender areas like the groin and leave big red round spots.

[sanford]

14 hours ago, tlwtheq said:

 they will come inside full of exoskeletons and puke them up...multiple times.  

Sounds really gross.See attached pic from an acquaintance at the dog run who resorted to a muzzle, labeled "I Eat Garbage", a desperate measure due to vet bills for ingested who-knows-what. I don't think I'd have the heart to do this, but I guess the owner felt driven to it because of $$$ Vet bills.

P.S. The expression on that poor dog's face really tugs at my heartstrings. I can practically hear Sarah McLachlan singing, "In the Arms of an Angel."

Edited June 3, 2021 by sanford

[bradl]

My friends in the cicada zone have my sympathies! Egads. 

[Hillscreek]

Heart goes out to you folks in the cicada areas. Thankful it is too cool up here in the north for the little beasties. 

[tlwtheq]

You wouldn't believe how many holes are in the ground from where they emerged.  A lot of them, apparently (based on observation), don't hatch healthfully enough to reproduce.  I guess that's why Nature makes so many, i.e., survival of the species.  Nelly and Max are still on leash-only outdoors.  The noise continues to be deafening!  The last time I experienced the noise and body count was 34 years ago in Kensington, MD.  May not see another..but I think I have seen/heard enough for life! 

 

Edited June 4, 2021 by tlwtheq
misspelling

[Kathryn]

OMG, Tara.  I cannot imagine what this would be like. I have seen stories on the news where folks are shoveling the dead cicadas off their lawns and sidewalks -- that many.  I would not want to go outdoors. My sympathies to you! After a year of covid restrictions, this is a summer we should be enjoying...

 

[pkcrossley]

so how long is this expected to go on?