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Cicada Killer

Summary: Cicada killer wasps are not as dangerous as their name sounds. Unless you're a cicada, that is. Cicada Killers are generally not interested in humans.

Cicada Killers are big, and when insects are big they can be scary. The female Cicada Killer does have a stinger, but it rarely attacks people. Cicada Killers are solitary wasps that don't build elaborate hives or have castes of workers like honey bees. They hunt cicadas so that they can lay eggs on them, which will provide food for Cicada Killer larvae. They hunt cicadas using a long, venomous stinger which totally paralyzes the cicada. The female Cicada Killer flies back to her burrow carrying the cicada with her legs, which is fairly remarkable since the paralyzed cicada weighs twice as much as the Cicada Killer.

Cicada Killer wasps hunt cicadas that appear annually, not typically the kind that appear every thirteen or seventeen years. The life cycle of a Cicada Killer is synchronized to match the life cycle of annual cicadas. The adult Cicada Killer does not eat cicadas, but actually eats flower nectar or plant sap.

The egg of a Cicada Killer takes a day or two to hatch and larvae spend most of the year underground feeding on a storehouse of cicada corpses. Male Cicada Killer larvae are left with one cicada while female Cicada Killers are left with two, three, or occasionally even four cicadas to feed on. For this reason the female Cicada Killers are much larger than the males and in circumstances when a female Cicada Killer only receives one cicada to eat as a larva, the female will be much smaller and closer in size to a male Cicada Killer.

Female Cicada Killers kill about 100 cicadas during their life and produce about sixty or seventy new Cicada Killers. Cicada Killer larvae spend the fall and winter underground feeding on cicadas, growing larger, until they are ready to emerge as adult Cicada Killers in the late spring or early summer. Adult Cicada Killers do not survive the winter.

photo credit: Ronald Billings, Texas Forest Service

Male Cicada Killers do not have stingers and do not hunt cicadas. Their primary goal in life is to mate with female cicadas. Much of a male's life is spent outside of a female Cicada Killer's burrow fighting with other male Cicada Killers for the right to mate with a female Cicada Killer. The larger the male, the more likely it will be successful. The males often fight with each other in mid-air, forming balls of battling Cicada Killers that have no control over their flight direction. This might be frightening to someone who encounters this behavior in the wild, but Cicada Killers will flee from humans when they are swatted at.

Cicada Killers are sometimes called sand hornets, although they are wasps, not hornets. They probably got the name because they build their burrows in dry, sandy soil. The female Cicada Killer wasps have specialized hind legs that are equipped with spines that can push dirt out of the burrow.

Cicada Killers are distributed across the US. If there is a Cicada Killer burrow that is in an obtrusive area you can clog the entrance to the burrow with a stick and the Cicada Killer will continue to bring cicada bodies to it for a while, and then give up to try a different location. Hopefully the new location will be somewhere out of the way.

Treat cicada killer burrows with Tempo 1% dust to gain some control.

Comments

Jamie
02 Jul 2010, 19:44

We have been battling a fairly large population of these at my parents home for a couple of years now.
Every July they come out of the flower beds and simply scare the heck out of everyone. Tried the exterminator route, tried other insecticides, and of course the ever entertaining tennis racquet removal method as well. Finally we have come up with an easy removal method which seems to have completely eliminated them. Ortho "Home Defense" from Lowes. I know it doesn't say anything about wasps, however I have used it around my shop with success on other bugs and had some left over. I shot the remainder of it down all of the holes I could find, and presto, no more wasps! We are all jumping for joy at this point as it looks as though we may have finally won the battle. Hope this helps.

JMP
07 Jul 2010, 20:48

Looking for ANSWERS on how to get rid of these things,,, did I miss something! Which, is completely possible! But...I was hoping the expert could give guidance. THANKS!

Ask the Exterminator
07 Jul 2010, 21:43

If you want to kill off these wasps you can treat their ground nesting holes with a pesticide dust like Tempo 1%. Go to the top of this page and click on "Pest Control Products". That will take you to a product site. Simply type in "Tempo" in the search box and you'll have your product.

Carolyn
13 Jul 2010, 15:27

Do cicada killers have any other benefit, such as pollinating large flowers like squash or eating other wasps or wasp larvae when they can't find any more cicadas?

Ask the Exterminator
13 Jul 2010, 15:33

You didn't read the article or you would know that these insects don't eat cicadas.

heather n ken
13 Jul 2010, 20:20

2day we found 2 of em loudly buzzing around r kitchen. they wur dive bombing us n r pets. 1 hada stinger n the other didn't. they wur both huge n super aggressive. can i expect mor or anest somewhere inside or outside my house? or could there be eggs layed somewhere inside or outside my house?

Ask the Exterminator
13 Jul 2010, 22:20

They r grnd dwellers so u need 2 look round the yd 2 c f u can find entry holes. Treat holes w/ air o sol dust pesticide.

Linda
15 Jul 2010, 10:56

This is fourth year I've had CK's and they are increasing tremendously in population. This year the Velvet Ants (cowkillers) have moved in and there is a war going on. I'm rooting for the Ants!! The cicada killers vs the cowkillers....now that's a a main attraction. Well, anyway, I'm so tired of these CK's dive bombing my dogs, chasing away helpful bees from my garden, and chasing away my beautiful hummingbirds, that if the cowkillers aren't successful, I will resort to other more drastic measures!!!

Tim
17 Jul 2010, 15:46

These little fookers have been buzzing around the pool... scary little suckers when you see the female with the stinger. "Not a threat to humans" my keester. They come right after you when you swat at them.

Gotta get a bigger fly swatter!

lizzie
19 Jul 2010, 14:21

I just spotted one of these CK's I think. Not quite sure if this is the bug. I spotted it when I was picking some tall phlox. The bug was almost as big as a hummingbird but not shy at all.I am worried if it will cause damage, especially to my (right now) beautiful vegetable garden. What do they do in the garden?
Thanks,
Lizziesgarden

Ask the Exterminator
19 Jul 2010, 16:23

They don't do anything to gardens.

Will
19 Jul 2010, 20:50

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when you say "to kill off these wasps," you're really referring to NEXT YEAR'S wasps, since they are what lives in the nesting holes. If you instead are looking to get rid of the wasps that flying about the yard this year, any typical wasp/hornet spray (or tennis racket!) should do the trick...if you can hit those fast-moving flyers. But, try very hard to wipe out the adult population before they create nests, because you'll be dealing with that many more of them next year!

Ask the Exterminator
19 Jul 2010, 23:43

I am speaking of this year's adults, as well as next year's newly born wasps.

Barbi
21 Jul 2010, 12:55

I have 5 acres of land and over the last few years these cicada hornets have literally taken over the yard in burrows... There must be hundreds of them now as I see them swarming over the extent of our entire property. My husband mows it with a tractor every week and I pray every time he doesn't anger one of them. What can we do to eliminate so many nests?

Ask the Exterminator
21 Jul 2010, 13:45

The burrows must be treated with a pesticide dust. That will reduce the population. I recommend Tempo 1%, which you can purchase at the top of this page. Click on "pest control products" and search for Tempo.

dave
23 Jul 2010, 19:18

I have cicada killers at work around the pool and they are harmless to people. I found out that they like soda and put some in my hand and had them eating out of my hand, literally. Stingers too, motioning up and down but not stinging.

Kia
02 Aug 2010, 14:12

How do you use the Tempo Dust? Do you treat the entire area or just the nest/durt piles?
I have about an half of ancre of land, would one bottle do the trick?

ken
02 Aug 2010, 20:14

I second the question on how to use the Tempo dust. I've been trying diatomaceous earth to no avail and am ready for some poison.

We've got about 30-50 nests in our front yard. I think the root cause is the loam is just to thin there and the grass gets rather weak in low rain. So bring on the poison, how many bottles of the tempo dust should I buy?

Ask the Exterminator
02 Aug 2010, 22:18

You only treat the entry holes of the wasps. Leave the hole open to allow wasps to come and go and get exposed to the dust. It only takes a small "puff" of dust. You should not pump the dust in the hole. The idea is to simply coat the walls of the entry area.

ken
03 Aug 2010, 20:41

Thanks!

jim
07 Aug 2010, 22:53

If we get the Tempo and follow your directions to the tee, will they be gone for good?
We are desperate fearfull and thinking of selling our house.

Ask the Exterminator
07 Aug 2010, 22:59

You are not likely to locate every nesting hole, so I cannot tell you they will be gone for good. I can say that you will see less activity if you treat the nesting holes.

Brad "NOT an Exterminator"
12 Aug 2010, 14:32

AtE, love your site my man. question for you, sans buying a cicada eating bird, or setting my loft on fire, is there a way to kill a cicada that has gotten into my loft? i'm in a wheelchair and it has gotten into the rafters, so I can't climb to catch it or i would. is there a way to outwit it? bug light maybe? cicada scented pheramone death trap of love?? party noise maker??? anything???? thank you in advance for your help and as always, all hail the the Exterminator!!

Ask the Exterminator
12 Aug 2010, 20:18

Brad:

It won't live long. If you are unable to spray it with any flying insect killer, you're going to have to live with it for a week or so.

Jennifer
16 Aug 2010, 12:57

Few years back did some research on behavior of Cicada killers. The advice above re: spray seven dust, raid wasp killer, and other insecticides seems to work...but it's important to find the hole--finding that whole means finding the nest and its female, as well as preventing return each summer.

Cicada wasps are territorial, they typically return to same burrow every season. Three things to locating the hole (or burrow) (1) Time of day 2) flying pattern 3)piles of dirt in the grass or along edging and sidewalks. It only takes a day or so to watch the behavior, which can be done looking out the window) and you'll find the hole.

They emerge from the burrow the same time everyday, twice a day, and fly the same pattern away from and back to the burrow. And for the most part, they fly just above the grass. In addition, the female will burrow out a hole, which leaves a pile of dirt along the areas where the grass contrasts with pavement or edging. Similar to ant pile of dirt but 3 or 4 times larger.

So, if you see one flying around just above the grass, take a few minutes to watch how/where it flies...this was instantly effective in ridding my yard of cicada killer nests. Every spring just before they emerge, we walk through the yard with sticks small sticks. Any holes beyond 4 inches deep are likely a new nest or point of entry so we spray those holes.

Good luck!

Ask the Exterminator
16 Aug 2010, 14:19

Thanks, Jennifer. If you notice, the very last line of my article recommends treating burrows with a pesticide dust.

Jennifer
18 Aug 2010, 23:29

Yes, the dust...absolutely!

I'm terrified of bees (whether they sting or not) and simply wanted to convey "how and where" to find the nest in order to use the dust.

If nothing else, knowledge is power and I'm able to co-exist with them...well, co-exist until I find the nest.

Charles
27 Aug 2010, 10:36

Is there a way to prevent the wasps from coming up to the surface next year? Will spraying insecticide down the burrows kill the pupae/larvae? What about landscape fabric - will that form a barrier they can't penetrate? Thanks for keeping up this informative page.

Ask the Exterminator
27 Aug 2010, 10:45

Treating the burrows kills the adult activity. If the pesticide dust survives the winter it will kill new emerging wasps. The dust application has little effect on the well-protected pupae.

Landscape fabric no doubt will trap some emerging wasps, but wasps from unprotected areas will still fly around your lawn.

Heather-Indiana
27 Aug 2010, 22:52

So, we had a very large Cicada Killer(based on pictures from this site and others) where I work and we were able to take it out with some Raid spray. After reading this article I realize it is a female and kinda feel bad if it really isn't an aggressive species. However, with tons of people around we had to kill it for safety precautions. Had no idea these things existed. Thought it was some kind of giant hornet at first.lol Wanted to say thanks for having this site so that I could figure out my new deceased friend I brought home for research. Will use your site in the future I am sure! Thanks!

Em-u-Lah
13 Sep 2010, 20:24

I have a crippling phobia of wasps,and I saw one of these on my porch. You can imagine what that was like. It started diving at me! I ran off screaming and the neighbors almost called the cops, thinking my house had been broken into or something. Damn bugs.

Robert
02 Aug 2011, 14:25

I tried the dust last year. A waste of time and money. The population has increased and has all but destroyed my back yard. I'm done playing games with these creatures. I'm using kerosene in a sprayer... a good cupload of kerosene down these holes. That will probably do the trick... no insecticides have been effective and I burned out my lawn using a liquid insecticide that had no warnings about use on lawns. I'm out for blood now.

Ask the Exterminator
02 Aug 2011, 14:39

If you think the liquid insecticide killed the lawn, you'll be thrilled with the kerosene.

Linda
07 Aug 2011, 18:44

I have been trying to get rid of these wasps for three years. I find that foaming wasp killer works best, but it
takes about a whole can to kill one wasp. I do watch them flying right outside my front door and when two males are fighting and knock each other down, that is a good time to spray them.I also noticed that they fight each other and one of them will get very tired and sit on the ground. This is also a good time to sprag. The females are hard to kill. I have put Seven dust near the entrance to burrows under my boxwood shrubs, but can't see the actual entrance hole, so this is not working. Now they are starting to go in my lawn and dig, so it will be even harder to find them. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Donna Smith
09 Aug 2011, 10:29

We are on our 3rd year of infestation by these wasps! The first year, we were on vacation and came home to the great surprise--our front yard looked like a gopher colony, but no, it was the wasps! We tried spraying, etc, but they came back the following year, of course, but I used many bottles of wasp spray, and seemed to be making progress! But this year, they are even worse. One of the sites advocates marking the holes during the daylight hours and then pouring ammonia down the holes about 11 p.m. after the females are in for the night. (We could have sold tickets for that sight--crazy homeowners with flashlight and watering pitcher with ammonia--no telling WHAT the WalMart checkout people thought of us buying all that ammonia). Anyway, I can't tell if we made any headway--it definitely killed the females--some of them started out of the holes as we poured--scary, but they definitely perished. But the NUMBERS of them!!! I don't know if we made any progress at all--the cycle is slowing down now, but as of two days ago, I thought there were more than ever! So we plan to use an insecticide to pour down the holes to see if it has any residual effect for next year. My husband has fearlessly mowed the formerly beautiful lawn right over the holes, has not been stung yet (Annie Oakley was posed with the wasp spray the first time, then found they weren't bothering him). So this is the continuing saga of our fight. Keep any suggestions coming, please.

Ask the Exterminator
09 Aug 2011, 16:43

Linda: I don't know what kind of wasp killer you are using, but I can tell you that Wasp Freeze will knock down any wasp with just one short blast. You can find Wasp Freeze at this link: http://shop.asktheexterminator.com/wasp-freeze.html.

Linda
09 Aug 2011, 18:33

I had to come up with a plan to get the females. I noticed that if I sprayed their burrows, they dug new ones. I got a hula hoop and put thick clear plastic on it and wrapped it around and then taped it. When I would see a female bring a cicada back to the nest or go into the hole, I throw the hula hoop over the hole. When she comes out, I step on her until I believe she is gone, then spray her to make sure. I got three in one day. They seem to bring the cicadas in the morning. This is very time consuming as you have to watch for them all the time. But it did work every time.

Sara
10 Aug 2011, 05:24

What a great site for information! This is my second year of infestation, but now I have six mounds near my front side walk, under a ground cover. Most of the holes are still open. Am I dealing with more than one queen? How many eggs are laid in each hole? After I try all the possible treatments, should I dig out the nest in the ground (which may ruin my plantings)?

Ask the Exterminator
10 Aug 2011, 12:47

A queen may have from 10 to 20 eggs per tunnel. These new cicada killers don't emerge as adults until next spring. It is not possible for me to determine how many queens you have making the burrows. I recommend treating the burrows with a pesticide dust like DeltaDust of Tempo 1% rather than liquid pesticides. The dust coats the inside of the burrow and will kill off new wasps as they try to leave the nest.

Sara
11 Aug 2011, 06:49

Ok, now I have eight mounds with holes. But I am not seeing many males or females flying around the area; maybe one or two. My fear is that in attempting to dust a particular hole, I will get attacked. And will get attacked from a different hole that is adjacent. Are these holes connected under ground? Once the queen is done laying the eggs, does she cover up the hole or is it left open? And when will the adults die? What I am thinking of, is to dust now, but in the fall just dig up the whole area to remove the larvae nests. It is incredible how quickly these nests appeared and how intimidating they are.

Ask the Exterminator
11 Aug 2011, 10:38

Dust in the evening when wasp activity has stopped. The queen does not cover the hole. She may dig numerous holes to lay eggs in various locations. The entry hole may lead to branches underground where the eggs are stored. If you hope to dig the nest out you'll have to go down about 10 inches.

Linda
12 Aug 2011, 19:11

I had about 5-6 females on my property.
They were digging under boxwood shrubs the first 3 years. After I treated those burrows with Sevin dust, they looked elsewhere and dug up my front lawn near the house, not far from their original area. The males hang around on bushes and patrol the area. They will try to start fights with anything that flies by - dragon flies, butterflies, moths..... but actually don't hurt anything except other male cicada killer wasps. The females are extremely driven to dig holes and don't pay any attention to what's happening around them. That is why the hula hoop suggestion above works so well. They don't see me coming and I'm able to catch them every time.

Sara
13 Aug 2011, 06:14

Rick and Linda
My husband and I just returned inside from dusting and spraying the holes. In the front sidewalk, we went from 2 holes to 10 holes in just one week. We watched the holes for a few minutes afterwards, and only one hole had a wasp come out and was easy enough to kill it. However, under the first step on the REAR deck, it was different. This is where we first noticed them last year. John was not able to crawl under there because it was so low to the ground. So he sprayed between all the boards. Almost immediately he heard a steady humming. So we left. I am guessing that this must be the 'mother' nest from last year. We will try to figure out how to get the top step board off to expose the ground, but at a later time. I may dig all the soil out and fill with stone or something so they won't want to return there next year. I no longer hear the hum of cicadas in the tree; maybe this food supply is gone. Dare I hope that? I don't have enough room to use the hoola hoop/plastic method. I would lose sight of any wasps in the ground cover. And yes, Rick, I will be digging down 10 inches in that front bed. I presume I will recognize the dead cicadas in the soil. I suppose I will lose my beautiful ground cover that took five years to fill in; if the dust or spray hasn't kill it, my digging it up probably will. Thanks for such a great site.

Linda
14 Aug 2011, 12:52

Sara
I have killed a total of 12 wasps this year. I noticed when I disturbed their nests in any way, they built new ones. I had put sevin dust on some and sprayed wasp killer on some. I even put butterfly nests over two at night in hopes of trapping them, but nothing was there in the morning. I noticed later in the morning that a wasp came by and noticed the butterfly nets. She immediately started to dig in another area and that's when I trapped her with the hula hoop. Next year I will begin watching as early as July 1st and as soon as I first see them, I will try to get rid of them. Hopefully, they will not be able to lay any eggs and I can avoid this in future years. I know they say they don't bite or sting, but they dive bomb you when you walk around their area. They are very curious. I had some packages delivered by UPS and the guy ran away after dropping off the packages. Then about 3 wasps came over to check out the boxes. The hover right next to you when you stand out there.

Sara
15 Aug 2011, 08:42

I am trying to calm down about my infestation. Rick said there could be 10-20 eggs per hole and I have 10 holes at least in the front. There are no more cicadas in the trees immediately around my property, but 300 feet up the street they are still buzzing. How far can the queen carry one of them? I'm not sure about digging up the nests in September. And I am not seeing that many of either the males or females. Maybe all I have are a lot of empty holes. For sure I will dig up under the steps. And next year, I will be aggressively vigilant from early July on.

Linda
16 Aug 2011, 18:49

Sara
I have seen the cicadas being carried for at least 100 feet. The females always use their own flight path in bringing them back to the nest every time. The male watches for her and flies the last
10 feet or so with her. You will not see the females very often, they are busy digging. The males hang out on nearby bushes and small trees. Last year in very late September, early October I was out pulling weeds and heard a buzzing. One of the females was still there and on her last legs. She buzzed constantly and then crawled into one of her burrows. I didn't see her after that, so you may want to wait later than September to dig.

Sara
22 Aug 2011, 18:41

After three weeks of heavy rain here in NJ, I finally got out to do some gardening. Found that I have nearly 20 holes in my 1/8 acre lot. To properly formulate my plan to get rid of them, I need some more information.

1) When the larvae/eggs hatch in the spring, do they come out of the same hole the mother wasp made?

2) Are those old holes re-used the next year?

Sara

Linda
22 Aug 2011, 20:43

I don't know if the wasps come out of the same hole dug by the mother. I know that I have had these creatures for about three years and they always make their first nest under my boxwood shrubs and go out from there. They did not dig holes in my lawn until I sprayed each nest under the shrubs with Sevin dust. After that, it seemed they didn't want to go back in there. I assume they first come out very near the burrow where they hatch. Other years, they always stayed in the same area where the shrubs are and dug several holes there.

Sara
23 Aug 2011, 10:33

I'm thinking of putting a short stick in each hole, sometime in October, leaving them over the winter. (Need to be able to find them next season) In late spring, pull it out and dust with the Tempo 1%. IF the hatched wasps come out the same hole, dust would rub off on them and kill them. Right?

And for the holes that I can dig up, I was thinking of digging the 10 inches, removing what I find. But using the Tempo dust in the soil as I shovel it back in. I realize the larvae will not survive without something to eat, but it seems like it might help. ??

As to my original "mother' nest, which is under the deck steps, I may go under there in November to see what I am dealing with. Then put 50-100 pounds of stone on it. Seems like the new wasps would have trouble crawling through that. Right ?

Ask the Exterminator
23 Aug 2011, 11:30

The dust will kill emerging wasps. Correct! The heavy stones may or may not work.

Ask the Exterminator
23 Aug 2011, 11:41

Linda: Cicada Killer wasps don't necessarily emerge from the hole that was created by the queen that laid the eggs. They often dig straight upwards from where they "hatch".

Sara
15 Oct 2011, 15:03

Hurricane Irene ended my obsession with these wasps. All the holes are now visibly gone. However, I had marked my calendar that today was Cicada Saturday. We tried the one hole I remembered seeing.

We dug down 12 inches in the soil, in a 2ft x 2ft square. Found nothing and probably destroyed the ground cover in the process. So much for my prior theory.

So now I will arm myself with Rick's products (when I have my credit card here at the computer). With 12 holes, next year will be a nightmare of wasps.

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