East Coast Members: What to do with the 17 year Cicadas?

[korina]

1996 was like yesterday.

Anyways, as we all know we are in for a NOISY summer.

Lucky I live in Baltimore City where I pray they don't come (the stink bugs epic for our region are not in the city).

However I can harvest these suckers and bring em home (already got palmetto bugs straying in the hosue, kitties love em)

Anyone here gonna feed these freeloading insects to our cats for play or worse?

All I can remember as a kid was they have a gooey mess inside them.

Thoughts?

Also thoughts on Palmetto bugs (big black roaches),  they come through my basement door and die (they are outdoor insects). Ocassionaly I catch them on their backs still alive.

My cats are kittens, and one palmetto made it upstairs and they had good fun, once i knew it was dead (actually it wasnt!!!) I flushed him.

 

[sivyaleah]

Haha, omg no. I'm utterly terrified of those things.  I remember back in, umm, maybe it was late 70's?  One of the invasions, awful.  The noise was deafening.  Of course, I didn't own my own home then, lived with my parents so didn't have to concern myself with the effects of them eating up all my new landscaping.  I'm really worried about that this time around.  My arborist just the other day warned me I may have to go out daily and shake them off my rather young flowering cherry

I'm sure my cats will be loving watching them out the window and the sound will probably make them haywire.  But I have no intentions of harvesting them.  No way. No how. 

 

[ritz]

I too was wondering if cats can (should?) eat cicadas.  In Washington, DC, some chocolatiers are already planning to sell chocolate covered cicadas for $3.50 each.

I live in Annapolis, work in D.C., and the infestation isn't suppose to be as severe in these areas.

Ritz has great fun with bugs that crawl into my house, though turns up her nose at the crickets I buy (for 11 cents each!) at PetSmart.  She liked the daddy long legs but got a really funny-scary expression when she bit into another tiny bug (spat it out, jumped up, and ran).  I made a big showing (in front of Ritz of course) of picking up the offending spider and flicking it outside.

 

[korina]

Quote:

Haha, omg no. I'm utterly terrified of those things.  I remember back in, umm, maybe it was late 70's?  One of the invasions, awful.  The noise was deafening.  Of course, I didn't own my own home then, lived with my parents so didn't have to concern myself with the effects of them eating up all my new landscaping.  I'm really worried about that this time around.  My arborist just the other day warned me I may have to go out daily and shake them off my rather young flowering cherry

I'm sure my cats will be loving watching them out the window and the sound will probably make them haywire.  But I have no intentions of harvesting them.  No way. No how. 

My parents have three acres and an award winning garden. I know there is a standard net for certain trees, flowers and the like I have no idea.

I will call them and ask and PM you. 

As far as "harvesting" them, it aint hard, just had memory flashback, you grab them by their two wings at the same time, put in jar, carry inside, or throw really hard at the wall and see what happens (hey dont hate me, I was just a kid back then!)

 

[korina]

NOTE: DO WE HAVE ANY ENTOMOLOGIST'S ON THIS BOARD?

I too was wondering if cats can (should?) eat cicadas.  In Washington, DC, some chocolatiers are already planning to sell chocolate covered cicadas for $3.50 each.

I live in Annapolis, work in D.C., and the infestation isn't suppose to be as severe in these areas.

Ritz has great fun with bugs that crawl into my house, though turns up her nose at the crickets I buy (for 11 cents each!) at PetSmart.  She liked the daddy long legs but got a really funny-scary expression when she bit into another tiny bug (spat it out, jumped up, and ran).  I made a big showing (in front of Ritz of course) of picking up the offending spider and flicking it outside.

Hey ritzy, how goes it. 

As to insects, here in Bmore, as soon as the weather kicks our temp now, the house flies come in, and these poor cats, which are only 8 months old now take it very seriously.  One of them one in a hanging chandalier (jumping distance) and I had to turn off all the lights.

My only fear with the Palmetto bugs is their shells hurting their digestive tract.

I also fear the poison, I know the city puts out some heavy duty stuff to kill them, I always worry for our neiborhood ferals.

I really want to find an entomologist who knows the innards of these critters and the digestability of exoskeletons.

Also as "experienced cat owners" we should be sure if and how any insects are poisenous or problamatic for our cats.

(PS: for all Mid Atlanticers, I wonder if the cicadas will hurt the population of the stink bugs?)

 

[ritz]

Yeah, I'd like to know what insects are safe and which aren't.

Obviously, black widow spiders and bees are off the table/plate.  But how about centipedes?  Worms that crawl in from the outdoors.  Add fertilizer or insect repellant to the mix.

I know cats have no problems digesting Diatomaceous Earth, which consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae.

I'd be concerned about palmento bugs too because of the shell, though don't crickets have shells too?

 

[peaches08]

I deal with palmetto bugs year round, my cats have never gotten sick from eating them. Their stools look normal.

 

[sivyaleah]

Quote:

My parents have three acres and an award winning garden. I know there is a standard net for certain trees, flowers and the like I have no idea.

I will call them and ask and PM you. 

As far as "harvesting" them, it aint hard, just had memory flashback, you grab them by their two wings at the same time, put in jar, carry inside, or throw really hard at the wall and see what happens (hey dont hate me, I was just a kid back then!)

Thanks Korina, that would be terrific. I actually moved into a nearly 100 year old home a couple of years back.  The prior owner totally neglected the grounds, and I've been trying to get it all back to some kind of decent state; including several hybrid and old garden rose bushes.  I'd hate to see all the hard work that went into it get chewed up in a few short weeks.