'Cicada Killers'

17 years ago

I have an infestation in my garden of "Cicada Killers"--wasps that burrow into the ground. (See pic.) I have two questions:

Are the burrows harmful to plants? (They seem to burrow at the base of plants.)

What can I do to get rid of them? (Currently I am filling each hole with a bit of Sevin powder--a tedious exercise since there are so many holes.)

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

malorn
17 years ago
Here's a great link about chemical control for cicada killers..it doesn't advocate the use of chemicals because if they are attracted to your yard..you may kill this years stock but they will return..he gives good suggestions about changing your area so they will not return, he also gives a break down of what chemicals will be effective..go to his home page also...he has a wealth of info about them..

I know this doesn't answer your question..and perhaps you are not interested in the article..but using sevin might only be a temporary solution..

Here is a link that might be useful: Prof. Holliday Cicada Killer control..
ofionnachta
16 years ago
Why do you have to kill the cicada killer wasps? They are loading up those burrows with numbed cicadas, for their kids to eat. Cicada larva chew on your plants' roots & damage/kill them if there are enough larvae. If you have cicada killers, you must have plenty of cicadas---bugs don't go places where they can't find food.
In other words, they are your friends, just like lady bug larva---as ugly as can be but boy do they eat aphids.
The cicada killers are attracted to the sandy soil; it is easy for them to dig & it is banked a bit. That is what they need, a sandy bank. They won't hurt your plants unless there are thousands of them in a very concentrated spot. They won't sting you (unlike yellow jackets) unless you do something like grab one. All they want is to dig burrows & drag home drugged cicadas. Leave 'em alone & enjoy the show when they are dragging home the booty (Last year we had a very entertaining afternoon keeping a cat from a Mama cicada killer who was trying to drag her catch across our back lawn--too big to fly with).
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Hi Blackrag- I agree with Patty. The cicada killer wasps dig holes in my beach volleyball court in my yard. When I first saw them, I was terrified. But, after reading stories like Patties, I became more comfortable with them. Just yesterday, as I've done many many times, I rototilled the court (loosens up the sand so it's nice and fluffy). The wasps look at me like "Gee, why are you doing that to our homes :-( ". They fly around a little, but nothing ever that I would consider aggressive. We play volleyball with them right there... and after a few minutes of playing, they fly off and don't return until we're done. I wish all bees/wasps were so. I was stung by a white faced hornet about 2 months ago, but that was only after I agitated them pretty good, and then stuck my hand right where their nest was. I didn't realize there was a hornets nest in my raspberry trellis. Looking back on it, if I had been on the lookout a little more, I could have avoided them. But, that was the worst sting ever... I don't even remember the first 50 feet as I ran away screaming. Ouch. And yellow jackets are not my friends either to say the least. But, as for the killer cicada wasps... "we cool". -Glenn
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Oh yeah, still terribly afraid. DH took the pics. He was about 3 feet from her nest. I was an additional 10 feet back from him, watching the whole thing. We have quite a few cicadas right now. It's not the 13-year cycle, so it's not disgusting, but they're pretty thick. Sitting outside Saturday night, 1 got in my friend's purse. That was gross. I'm going to let the Cicada killer live. As long as she's killing the cicadas & leaving me be, she's welcome. The cicadas will fly up to us and hit us. The killer doesn't, as long as we don't do anything silly. Also, the killer's only active in sunlight. The cicadas are active all day and night. They are so loud between 4 and 6 pm that we cannot hear the outdoor speakers on the deck. You have to yell over them to the person sitting next to you.
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Imp, For some reason, my DH is also a bee/wasp/yellow jacket magnet every time he walks out the door, but especially when he is mowing. Normally, it is the male cicadakillers who are aggressive and sting. (Hmmm, not surprising, is it?) It is sort of 'shocking' to watch one insect attack and subdue another. I sometimes see the same kind of battle between praying mantids and other insects. We also watch the argiope spiders (we have very, very many and some have had their webs in the same spots for months now) catch their prey in their webs quite often and it is very entertaining, especially when they are dealing with big old grasshoppers. With all the cicadas we have here in our rural area, it would take a billion cicadakillers to subdue them all, but I suppose the cicadakillers we have do help control them somewhat. I am sorry they're damaging your hostas. If I had hostas and they were tunneling around them, I am sure I'd be just as irritated as you are. The area in our landscape that the frequent the most has perennial Four O'Clocks which have tuberous roots that can get as large as a football, so the tunneling from the cicadakillers doesn't harm them. I used to have hostas in that spot, but then discovered that in our area the word 'hosta' is another word for 'deer chow'. To keep the cicada killers from digging, you'd have to put down something relatively solid like cardboard or cloth or plastic that they can't tunnel through. They love mulched areas because the mulch keeps the ground softer for them and makes it easier to tunnel in it. I have heard of folks mulching with gravel or some other form of decorative stone to deter them but haven't tried it myself and can't say I'm sure it would be a good solution here since rocks absorb heat and we have too much heat as it is. I suspect your hostas wouldn't appreciate heat collected/reflected from a layer of rock mulch. I don't even know of a natural predator that preys upon cicada killers, although there must be one of some kind. Dawn
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annld
16 years ago
Well, now it's mid-October, and I'm seeing cicada killers for the first time ever. I thought my yard had been invaded by aliens. There must have been 100 little holes with the little dirt plugs beside them (the plugs look like goose guano). I happened to find a dead wasp and was able to Google it and figure out what was going on. What I don't understand is -- why now? I haven't had any cicadas for several weeks. What is this wasp burying in the ground? And how many wasps do I have if I have so many holes? I haven't seen any but the one dead one. It's very bizarre. I actually contacted Chuck Holliday, but I'm not getting everything answered.
Kimmsr
16 years ago
Cicada Killers are beneficial insects that do not threaten humans in any way, so there is no reason to try, or do, anything to control them.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
16 years ago
They can be a problem if they decide to set up housekeeping in a well-traveled location. They are quite territorial of their 'nests', something I can personally attest to. Other than that, I've never known them to be aggressive or problematic. I'm one of the very few (I've never met anyone else) people to have been stung, so can also testify (yikes) to the severity. I stepped on one while walking barefoot in my back yard. My fault, entirely.
HU-182116853
2 years ago
Kimmsr say that when you have an infestation in your yard or close to your house!

'Cicada Killers'

Comments (6)

malorn

ofionnachta

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annld

Kimmsr

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

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