Cicada phenomenon distracts golfers at Sylacauga Country Club

SYLACAUGA, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Emerging cicadas are so loud in Talladega County that they’re wreaking havoc during golf games at the Sylacauga Country Club.

For the first time since 1803, two broods of cicadas are emerging at the same time in the United States.

Here in Alabama, Cicada Brood 19 — which comes out every 13 years — is making its presence known from the wooded areas on the country club’s 18-hole golf course.

It’s a symphony of cicadas near the seventh hole, and on the back nine. The presence of the red-eyed bugs is quite a distraction for some avid golfers on Friday.

Sammy Dodson and his golfing buddies are having a hard time staying focused on their game.

“It’s really hard to concentrate,” Dodson said.

As for the loud sound the bugs make when they’re all singing?

“If you’ve watched old science fiction movies, that’s actually what it sounds like, the old flying saucers type thing, that’s how I would describe it,” Terry Veazey said.

While the golfers find the noise the cicadas create distracting, the sound serves a very specific purpose.

“What you hear is a male trying to attract a mate, so they’re attracting the females,” explained Chip East, a Regional Extension Agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

East says this year’s event, in which a brood that only emerges every 13 years is starting to appear, is the only time he gets a lot of calls about cicadas.

“I only get a lot of calls every 13 years,” East laughed. “I get a lot of calls on it.”

According to East, the appearance of the cicadas is expected to continue for another six weeks. He also gave this piece of advice to those concerned about the well-being of their trees.

“Enjoy them, it’s neat while they’re here,” he said. “They’re going to be gone, but enjoy them while they’re here.”

84-year-old Grover Blankenship has developed his own strategy for dealing with the noise: adjusting the volume on his hearing aid.

“I have an app on my phone that cuts down on outside noise, and that cuts some of it out,” Blakenship said.

Veazey says it will be strange when the chorus of cicadas finally comes to an end.

“When it gets quiet, we won’t know what to do,” he joked.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.