What to Do with Dead Cicadas in Town

The cicada life cycle is busy, boisterous and brief, and who wants dead bugs lying around their yard after the music fades?

Patch reader and Morristown resident Alicia Soloway said that although there are no cicadas near her home near Ford Mansion, but for her "friend who lives on Buckley Hill Road ... off of Hanover Avenue ... it's literally abuzz with the sound of cicadas - and has been for the past week. They're everywhere.  On the trees.  On the ground." She sent in two photos of Buckley Hill Road cicadas. 

A Chicago Tribune blogger wrote that the best thing to do with dead cicadas is to let them be, and allow animals, soil microorganisms and other bugs to consume them, eventually returning their nutrients to the soil. If you really must get rid of them, rake them up and throw them away with the regular garbage.

But dead cicadas can be used in other, more creative ways that are still earth-friendly. Here are a few ideas from The Cincinnati Enquirer:

1. Fish bait: Cicadas are free and they freeze well!

2. Mulch or fertilizer: Cicada shells are made of a substance called chitin, which can retain moisture and prevent weed growth. You can also use cicadas as fertilizer once they begin to decay. 

3. Plastic alternative: Because chitin is tough and protective, it can be used as a biodegradable material to make temporary containers.

4. Arts and crafts: Break out your glue gun! Believe it or not, people use cicadas to make unique earrings, necklaces and art projects. 

5. Monopoly markers: Not for the faint of heart. Missing one of the metal game pieces? A dead cicada can be a place-holder. 

6. Have a Yummy Snack: Some cicada enthusiests call them the truffle of the insect world. 

Have you seen or heard the cicadas in Morris Township or Morris Plains? Let us know by telling us in the comments section or adding photots to this Patch article