Cicada Mania Continues

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The Periodical Cicada Life Cycle:

  • Cicadas appear in late May or early June
  • During this adult stage they do not feed
  • Male cicadas create a buzzing, clicking sound to attract females
  • Within a week of emerging they mate
  • Females deposit eggs 7-10 days after emergence
  • Injury to plants caused by female cicadas as they insert their eggs into twigs
  • The female cicada punctures the bark of a twig multiple times to make "pockets" to lay eggs
  • A female cicada lays 400 to 600 eggs
  • 70-80 types of plants are susceptible to damage
  • Eggs are especially laid in the wood of oak, hickory, apple, peach, and grape
  • Within a month of mating, the adults die
  • Nymphs hatch from the eggs and enter the ground
  • Nymphs continue to grow underground until the spring of the 17th yeaer
  • Then the nymphs dig to the surface, often creating mud turrets on top of the ground
  • Nymphs leave the ground and climb tall objects, such as trees
  • Here the nymph molts and sheds its skin
  • The newly emerged adult soon hardens and darkens
  • Here the nymph molts and sheds its skin

Cicada Facts

  • About 3,000 types of cicadas populate the globe
  • Only the eastern half of the US has the unique set of species called periodical cicadas that spend years underground
  • Cicadas can only fly as far as half a mile
  • An adult cicada is about 1 5/8" long
  • Periodical cicadas have no defense mechanism (such as toxins); their sheer volume is their survival tactic

Cicada Control

  • The only realistic necessary material needing protection are trees one inch or less in caliper, azaleas and rhododendron

    Control Options:

    • Use tree wrap around trunk and larger branches
    • Cover plant with pond netting supported with stakes
    • Spray with liquid sevin or Bayer multi-insect killer when you hear Cicada activity

    The damage caused by the Cicada occurs by their inserting eggs with their sawlike ovipositer. This being the case physical controls work best with contact sprays being the last line of defense.




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