Cicada Control Services

Cicadas

Cicadas are generally not harmful to humans, pets, or structures, but they can have some negative effects, particularly on plants, gardens, and agricultural areas. Here’s a thorough breakdown:

• Damage to Trees and Shrubs: Female cicadas use a structure called an ovipositor to cut slits in small branches and stems to lay their eggs. This can cause splitting of young branches, and “flagging,” where twigs or small branches die and fall off. Seedlings or young trees can be severely affected. Multiple cicada attacks may stunt growth or even kill the plant.
• Damage to Crops: Cicadas can harm certain agricultural crops, particularly fruit trees such as cherries, peaches, and plums. Large populations can damage stems and reduce overall yield. Orchards with young trees are particularly vulnerable because cicadas’ egg-laying can weaken branches and reduce long-term productivity.
• Nuisance Issues: Male cicadas produce loud mating calls that can reach up to 100 decibels, which can be disruptive, especially in urban areas. Cicadas leave behind exoskeletons that can be unsightly on trees, fences, and plants.
• Potential Indirect Effects: Large emergences can attract birds, small mammals, and even dogs that may damage gardens in pursuit of cicadas. Repeated cicada activity, particularly over successive years, can weaken trees, making them more susceptible to disease or other pests.
• Short-term but intense population bursts: Periodical cicadas (e.g., the 13- or 17-year species) emerge in massive numbers. While each individual is relatively harmless, the sheer volume can temporarily overwhelm gardens, young trees, and outdoor spaces.

While cicadas are not toxic, aggressive, or structurally destructive like termites or carpenter ants, their primary harm is to young trees, garden plants, and occasionally crops, along with creating noise and aesthetic nuisance.

Learn more: Do Cicadas Bite? || Can Cicadas Fly? || What Do Cicadas Eat?

Cicada Removal

Getting rid of cicadas, or at least managing their populations, can be important for several reasons, especially depending on the scale of infestation and the context of your property. While cicadas are not typically dangerous to humans—they don’t bite or sting—their presence can create significant problems for plants, trees, and structures:

• Damage to Trees and Plants: Cicadas lay their eggs in the branches of trees by cutting slits into young twigs and stems. In large numbers, this “egg-laying” can cause branches to split, die back, or weaken. This is especially problematic for fruit trees, ornamental trees, and young saplings. Repeated cicada infestations can reduce a tree’s growth, diminish fruit yields, and in extreme cases, lead to the death of smaller or stressed trees.
• Disruption of Ecosystems: While cicadas are a natural part of many ecosystems, periodic population explosions (like those of periodical cicadas every 13 or 17 years) can temporarily overwhelm local flora and fauna. Heavy feeding on tree sap and massive numbers of egg-laying cuts can temporarily destabilize certain plant populations.
• Structural Nuisance: Cicadas tend to congregate on walls, fences, and outdoor furniture. While they do not chew wood like termites, their sheer numbers can create a mess with dead bodies accumulating and can stain surfaces. Noise is another factor: male cicadas produce loud mating calls that can reach over 100 decibels, which can be stressful or disruptive in residential areas.
• Indirect Pest Issues: Dead cicadas attract predators such as birds, rodents, and insects. This can sometimes lead to secondary pest problems, such as an influx of opportunistic species that damage property or plants. Their presence can also make yard work, gardening, and outdoor activities more challenging or unpleasant.
• Commercial or Aesthetic Considerations: For landscaping businesses, nurseries, and fruit growers, cicadas can directly impact the health and marketability of trees and plants. For homeowners, a heavy cicada population can lower property enjoyment and sometimes property value if damage is extensive.
• Management Focus: Because cicada populations are mostly cyclical, management usually focuses on protecting young and vulnerable trees rather than attempting to eliminate the insects entirely. Strategies include using fine netting over small trees during peak egg-laying season, maintaining tree health to improve resilience, and targeted pest management when populations threaten high-value plants.

The importance of removing or managing cicadas isn’t about human health but about protecting plant life, preventing property damage, minimizing secondary pests, and maintaining comfort and aesthetics in outdoor spaces.

Learn more: How To Get Rid Of Cicadas

Cicada Control

Hiring our professional pest control for cicadas is often the most effective way to protect your home or business from the risks and nuisance associated with these insects. Here’s why:

• Expert Identification and Assessment: Cicadas may appear harmless, but there are different species, some of which can cause significant damage to young trees and shrubs by laying eggs in branches. Our professionals can identify the species, assess the severity of the infestation, and determine whether intervention is necessary.
• Effective and Safe Treatment: Cicadas are notoriously difficult to manage with over-the-counter products alone. Our pest control experts have access to targeted insecticides and strategic treatment plans that can control cicadas without harming beneficial insects or contaminating your property.
• Prevention of Property Damage: During mass emergences, female cicadas lay eggs in small tree branches, causing “flagging” (the branches break and die). Our professionals can help prevent this damage by treating affected plants or advising on physical barriers and pruning strategies.
• Minimizing Risk to Health and Comfort: While cicadas do not bite or transmit disease, their sheer numbers can overwhelm outdoor spaces, create noise disturbances, and leave behind droppings. Our professionals reduce the population efficiently, restoring comfort and minimizing cleanup.
• Long-Term Management: We don’t just eliminate current cicadas—they implement strategies to reduce the impact of future emergences, including habitat management, monitoring, and preventive treatments for young trees.
• Time and Stress Savings: Attempting DIY cicada control can be labor-intensive, messy, and largely ineffective. Our professionals handle all aspects safely and efficiently, allowing you to focus on daily activities without worry.

While cicadas are often considered a seasonal nuisance, our professional pest control ensures that your property is protected from damage, your family or customers are not inconvenienced, and future infestations are minimized. DIY measures can help in minor cases, but large or recurring infestations are best handled by trained experts.

Cicada Exterminators

Hiring our local exterminators for cicada control can offer significant advantages over relying on a large national company. Here's why our local expertise often matters more for cicadas:

Knowledge of Local Cicada Populations

• Species-specific expertise: Different regions may have different cicada species, each with unique life cycles, emergence patterns, and behaviors. Our local exterminators are intimately familiar with which species are common in the area and when they are likely to appear.
• Timing interventions: Cicadas are most vulnerable during their brief above-ground period. Our local professionals plan our treatments precisely to coincide with egg-laying or emergence windows, maximizing effectiveness. National companies generally follow generic schedules that may miss this critical timing.

Customized Solutions

• Property-specific strategies: Our local exterminators tailor our treatment methods to your specific trees, shrubs, and landscape layout, taking into account the age of trees, species sensitivity, and environmental factors.
• Selective and targeted control: Instead of blanket chemical applications, which are less effective and can harm non-target species, our local professionals often employ precise approaches like netting, pruning guidance, or localized insecticides.

Faster Response and Reliability

• Immediate availability: Our local team can respond quickly when cicadas begin to emerge. With national chains, scheduling and communication can be slower due to centralized operations.
• Continuous monitoring: Because cicadas emerge in short, intense bursts, timing is critical. Our local exterminators can monitor your property and neighboring areas in real time, adjusting interventions as needed.

Cost-effectiveness

• Lower overhead costs: National companies often charge more due to marketing, corporate structure, and travel expenses. Our local exterminators generally provide superior services at a lower cost.
• Focused treatments: By applying control measures only where needed, our local professionals reduce wasted materials and avoid unnecessary treatments.

Accountability and Trust

• Reputation in the community: Our local team depends heavily on word-of-mouth and our local reputation. We are more committed to delivering high-quality results because our business is tied directly to the area.
• Follow-up support: If cicadas return or treatments require adjustment, our local professionals provide timely follow-up and long-term advice. National companies may have less personal accountability.

Environmental Sensitivity

• Regional environmental considerations: Our local exterminators understand soil types, native plants, beneficial insect populations, and local wildlife. This allows us to minimize ecological disruption while still protecting your property.
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Our local exterminators implement IPM strategies and targeted treatments rather than heavy chemical spraying, which is better for long-term property and environmental health.

Our local exterminators bring precise timing, species-specific expertise, tailored treatment plans, faster response, lower costs, and better accountability. For a seasonal and highly localized pest like cicadas, this expertise translates directly into healthier trees, less property damage, and a more efficient, environmentally conscious control strategy.

What Do Cicadas Look Like?

Cicadas are insects known for their distinctive appearance. These large, flying insects are best recognized for their robust bodies, transparent wings, and loud buzzing calls. Here's what cicadas look like:

• Size: Cicadas vary in size depending on the species, but they typically measure between 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) in length. Some larger species can reach up to 3 inches (7.5 cm).
• Body: The body of a cicada is stout and elongated, with a somewhat triangular shape. They have a tough exoskeleton that is usually black, brown, or green, which helps protect them from predators.
• Head: Their large, prominent compound eyes are one of their most striking features. These eyes provide them with excellent vision. Cicadas also have three simple eyes, or ocelli, on top of their head.
• Antennae: Cicadas have short, bristle-like antennae that are positioned between their eyes.
• Wings: Cicadas have two pairs of wings. The front wings are longer and more prominent, while the hind wings are membranous. The wings are often transparent and veined, with intricate patterns. In some species, the wings are colored, ranging from green to brown.
• Legs: Cicadas have six legs, which are adapted for clinging to trees or other surfaces. Their legs may have spines or hooks that help them grip onto branches.
• Abdomen: The abdomen of a cicada is segmented and relatively wide, giving them their distinctive shape. Males typically have noisemaking structures on the sides of their abdomen.
• Mouthparts: Cicadas have piercing-sucking mouthparts that they use to feed on the sap of trees and plants. These mouthparts are adapted for extracting fluids from plant tissues.

Cicadas exhibit sexual dimorphism, meaning there are differences between males and females in terms of their appearance. Male cicadas often have noisemaking organs called tymbals on their abdomen, which they use to produce the loud, distinctive buzzing sound they are known for. Females lack these structures and tend to have a more pointed abdomen for laying eggs.

Cicadas are known for their robust bodies, prominent compound eyes, transparent wings with intricate veining, and distinctive calls produced by males. Their appearance can vary depending on the species, and they are fascinating insects with unique life cycles and behaviors.

Where Are Cicadas Found?

Cicadas are widespread insects found in various parts of the world, but their distribution can vary depending on the species. Here's where you might find cicadas:

• North America: Cicadas are prevalent in many parts of North America. The United States, in particular, is home to a wide variety of cicada species. The periodical cicadas, which emerge in massive numbers at 13- or 17-year intervals, are famous in the eastern United States. You can find them in states like Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and other eastern regions.
• South America: Cicadas are found throughout South America. They are often encountered in forests, grasslands, and other natural habitats. The Amazon Rainforest, for example, is home to numerous cicada species.
• Europe: Cicadas are less common in Europe compared to some other regions, but they can still be found in various European countries, especially in the southern and Mediterranean regions. Spain, Italy, and Greece have cicada populations.
• Asia: Asia has a rich diversity of cicada species. They can be found in a wide range of habitats, from forests to urban areas. Countries like Japan are known for their summer cicada choruses, and the cicadas in this region are culturally significant.
• Africa: Cicadas are distributed across Africa, with a presence in both tropical and subtropical regions. You can find them in wooded areas and savannas.
• Australia: Australia is home to a diverse range of cicada species. They are found in forests, woodlands, and urban areas across the country.
• New Zealand: Cicadas are present in New Zealand, primarily in the North Island and parts of the South Island. They are more abundant in warm, forested areas.
• Middle East: Cicadas can be found in parts of the Middle East, particularly in countries with diverse climates, such as Israel and Lebanon.
• Tropical and Subtropical Regions: Cicadas are often more abundant in tropical and subtropical regions due to the warm climate and the presence of suitable host plants for nymphs. They can be found in rainforests, grasslands, and deserts, depending on the species.
• Urban and Rural Areas: Cicadas can be found in both urban and rural environments. They are often attracted to light and may be more noticeable in urban areas during their adult stage.

The specific types of cicadas and their abundance can vary widely within each region. Some species have distinct emergence patterns, such as annual cicadas, while others have periodic cycles of 13 or 17 years. When and where you can find cicadas may depend on the particular species and their life cycle. During the summer months, you are more likely to hear the characteristic buzzing of cicadas in many of these regions.