It’s the year of the cicada as they have come to the surface after being underground for the past 17 years. It is anticipated that the cicadas have outnumbered humans 600 to 1 from North Carolina to Connecticut! For those who have encountered cicada’s creeping around their plants, littered on their porches, crawling on their windows, or making noise up in their trees, they might just ask…”Which is worse, the cicada’s or the cicada killers?”
The arrival of the cicadas is an occasional occurrence so most people do mind them too much. Some people even anticipate their arrival and enjoy a good meal out of them. One critter that eagerly anticipates their arrival and will gladly invade a cicada nest is the cicada killer wasp.
The cicada killer wasps are large wasps that are often found to be up to two inches in length. They are brown or black in color and easily distinguishable by their amber colored wings and yellow stripes. Cicada killers build their nests in the ground, typically in areas where dirt in loose. Sandy areas such as the edge of golf courses, or a child’s sandbox will attract the cicada killers.
In the springtime, the males will emerge from the nesting spot first and then the females. The females will then begin to build and nest for what will become the next generation of cicada killers. The loose soil or sand makes for easy digging for the wasp. Lawns are also used as nesting areas for cicada killer wasps. The nests are often made in close proximity to where cicada nests are made so that the wasps can easily steal cicadas and their developing larvae. They are then encased with the developing cicada killer wasp larvae to feed upon while they are developing of the coming winter months.
Cicada killer wasp females can deliver a painful sting if provoked or disturbed. You can have these pesky wasps removed by calling a Monmouth County, NJ exterminator like Allison Pest Control.