COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Sheriff’s deputies in Middle Tennessee responded to a call about a “loud machinery noise” in the area.
Putman County Sheriff’s Cpl. Joe Davis told The Cookeville Herald-Citizen that deputies went to the house on Wednesday, only to find out that cicadas were bugging the resident who called 911.
Davis said the cicadas were in the woods behind the home. The caller’s wife told deputies that he noise had started about a week earlier. Davis said the residents were told it would stop in about a week and a half.
Davis said no cicadas were arrested on the noise complaint.
The cicadas are part of a population that emerges every 13 years. The noisy insects are appearing in a number of states, including Arkansas.
The cicadas do not bite but do suck liquid from tree branches.