CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — Cicadas are making a lot of noise all over our area. In some areas, it’s gotten so loud that people are calling 911.
Channel 9′s Tina Terry learned some of the callers have thought the cicada noises were car alarms. One neighbor described the noise to Terry.
“It was the day before yesterday, early in the morning, and I kept hearing this drone -- constant droning this one tone,” Mary Petrou said.
Petrou drove through her Chester County neighborhood looking for the source of that noise. She said she posted on Facebook, and her neighbors were the ones who told her the noise was coming from cicadas.
“We have been receiving calls from people in the community. They believe it’s their neighbors’ alarms or businesses’ alarms,” said Londa Pringle, a spokesperson for the Chester County Sheriff’s Office.
Chester County Emergency Management posted on social media saying two broods of cicadas have emerged at the same time this year. That has amplified the number of cicadas in our area and the sound they make.
“It’s just a constant roar, just ‘zzzzzzz’ and it’s many, many, many cicadas,” neighbor Bruce Truesdale said.
Emergency workers are asking the public to be mindful.
“They’re coming up from the ground. They’re making these loud noises and that’s the reason for those alarming-sounding sounds,” Pringle said.
Experts said the loud sounds may continue until July, when mating season ends and the older cicadas die.
And for what it’s worth, cicadas don’t bite or sting and won’t hurt you, even though they might look or sound creepy.
(WATCH BELOW: 17-year brood of cicadas to invade Carolinas)
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