Cicadas and Newly Planted Trees

27 days ago

last modified: 27 days ago

The news is sounding the alarm about the coming cicada-mageddon and the damage they do to small trees. The three lines of defense discussed are netting the tree, wrapping the trunk with sticky material or wrapping the trunk with slippery material.

I just planted several japanese maples, a redbud and two tri-color beech last year. The media is also saying to avoid planting trees within a few years of a cicada emergence (yeah sure).

Any thoughts or experience?

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Comments (12)

KR KNuttle
27 days ago
We have had cicada for eons. They are part of the system the God created for this planet. As I remember the only thing I noticed last time they came around was the increase in the shell casings on the trees.

With all of the insecticides, and other chemicals that are used on yard, many don't make it out of the ground. The odds are, you will not notice their presences.

Don't listen to the news hype, it is only a slow news day.
cecily 7A
27 days ago
We had a large cicada brood a few years ago. There were zillions of them - the sidewalks were covered thickly enough that you couldn't walk without stepping on them (and they flew into my hair and got stuck there). It was amazing. Just when you think you know the natural world pretty well a surprise comes along. Around here the cicadas favored oak trees and oaks were heavily flagged (damaged). If you net young trees, I'd be concerned about birds being caught in the netting as they hunt cicadas.
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I think that nonsense. True-planting trees too deeply is a huge issue and far too commonplace, but again, the bad results of doing so manifest slowly. I'm talking years. Those guys gave you a bum steer. Incidentally Allyson-don't know if I've mentioned this already or not-but in balled and burlapped stock, and even in some containerized, the "top of the rootball" is not a true guide to planting depth. Let's take the B&B case: The trees are initially grown in rows in a nursery field somewhere. Periodically, cultivating equipment is run down between the rows to control weeds. In the process, soil gets heaped up and around the trees. Then later, when they are dug, what is now a tree with potentially quite a bit of soil heaped up around it is taken as "the height it grew at in the nursery". But of course, this is not so, the soil having been placed there via this cultivation. We don't plant all that many B&B trees these days, but back when we did, it was commonplace to have to shave a great deal of soil off the top of the ball to find the root flare. I still remember one large honeylocust-the root flare was buried more than a foot down into the top of the ball! So that is no guide at all. One simply must find that swollen area of root flare, taking care to not confuse the graft union-yet another are of swollen tissue-for this root flare. That, of course, on grafted trees only. In any case, what those guys told you is surely rubbish, probably intended to cover up the fact that they didn't know or care enough to insure that each customer takes their trees home well-protected for the trip. +om
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mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
27 days ago
We had multiple broods a few decades ago. There was at least a foot of dead cicada mulch at the base of the oak trees. Agree that oaks seem to be the hardest hit, and they were damaged enough you could pick them out at highway speed. They did cause some damage to my larger roses, and a potted bay tree, which was interesting.

I'm not sure I understand how wrapping the trunk of a tree is going to help. They can fly. Not well, but enough to get to the top of a 60 ft tree. They also don't go after trunks. They go after twigs a little larger than a pencil.
beesneeds
27 days ago
Where you are is going to make a difference to how you are hit. An area in the middle of a brood or where broods overlap is going to be harder hit. Some places in NE IL aren't as clustered with broods.

This is a site that has a lot of information. Including some more detailed locations and county listings for broods. Brood 13 is likely the most concern for NE IL, but this site also lists the other broods. https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/brood-xiii-13-will-emerge-in-2024-in-illinois-iowa-wisconsin-and-indiana/
iochroma
27 days ago
You could also treat the trees with a systemic insecticide to protect them. Imidacloprid is the obvious one.
plantkiller_il_5
27 days ago
you can't treat...they don't eat trees

they hit the leader of my Nyssla syl...black gum

killed the leader , turned the tree into a flat topped freak

cool ?

ron
iochroma
27 days ago
They lay their eggs on the branches; when they hatch they feed on the juices of the plant. If the tree is treated with a systemic they will die when they feed.

Understand?
beesneeds
27 days ago
A preventative is also wrapping the trunk of a tree with sticky or slippery. As the cicada emerges from the ground, it needs the time to molt and dry and does so as it crawls up the trunk of the tree. If it gets stuck it dies. If it stays on the ground it will likely die too. If it can't get to the uppers it can't mate.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
27 days ago
Here is a not terribly good picture of the damage cicadas do when laying eggs.

This is on a large species rose, which handled the damage very well. On a tree, the branch will break at this point, and die off.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
26 days ago
I think some are making up information about these insects, lol. The larvae drop to the ground after hatching, burrow into the ground where they feed on grass roots, tree and shrub roots for the duration of the nymphal life. Then, they emerge from the soil and climb on any vertical surface order to escape their nymphal exoskeleton. Does not have to be a tree.

Once their wings have hardened, they will seek someplace more suitable, both for mating, feeding and egg laying. Cicada are perfectly capable of flying. I have found their little husks on brick walls, metal poles, fence posts, etc.

They are vulnerable from humans while still underground, where common pesticides easily kill them. I’d be tempted to use SurroundWP on young trees to prevent egg laying damage. It is used in nurseries to prevent damage to their young trees and shrubs. SurroundWP is something I always keep on hand.
davidrt28 (zone 7)
26 days ago
last modified: 26 days ago
PROTECT YOUNG TREES AND SHRUBS.

I downplayed the risk because I didn't remember it being very bad 17 years earlier - well, 17 years earlier I mostly collected rare perennials and had a garden that was over 10X smaller in size and plant variety. Fortunately they only killed a couple small, 1 gallon potted Prunus mume, but they damaged a bunch of other stuff. Obviously, I wish I'd protected more things.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
25 days ago
last modified: 25 days ago
The news is sounding the alarm

>>> first .. i am stunned.. that the news whores are trying to gin up some plague of the biblical proportions.. though they cant make any religious references ..

second... IPM .. integrated pest management dictates that you REACT.. and only react to an actual ongoing event;... we dont worry nor react until something is actually happening... we dont ever over react to the 'news' ....

i would bet.. 99.999% of us.. will barely notice anything out of the ordinary ...... and the news will report about the .0001 percent ... whatever happens will be very regional.. and limited ...

soo.. bottom line.. dont worry abut it.. and dont do anything until you actually see a bug. and see some type of SIGNIFICANT damage.. and then we will consider reacting..

report back on 8/1 and let us know ... be sure to tell me i was wrong.. and the plague is hitting your yard.. ill suck it up and admit i was wrong ... lol

ken

Cicadas and Newly Planted Trees

Comments (12)

KR KNuttle

cecily 7A

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