Plan to protect trees and gardens from Brood X Cicadas

The 17-year Brood X Cicadas, also known as the Great Eastern Brood, will soon debut from their long underground life cycle stage from late April into June.

Virginia Cooperative Extension Agriculture Agent Kirsten Ann Conrad said it’s important to plan accordingly to protect trees and gardens during the six-week life span of these annoying arthropods. During mating, male cicadas will fill the air with their songs. Afterward, females will cut slits in tree branches to lay clutches of about 25 eggs, producing up to 400-600 total.

“Young, newly planted trees can be vulnerable to severe damage from periodical cicadas and should not be planted this year until the fall,” said Conrad. “Egg-laying activity can result in the death of tree branches that are 1/4- to 1/2-inch in diameter. Insecticides are not particularly effective and not recommended, as many birds and animals feed on the cicada larva and adults.”

Delaware is among the many areas in which the Great Eastern Brood of cicadas will make an appearance in 2021. For two to three weeks in late spring, adult cicadas will emerge at sunset from their underground locations where they spend most of their lives as nymphs feeding on tree root sap.

Conrad offers the following tips to protect plants and trees from their above-ground egg laying activities:

• Avoid planting young trees within 1-2 years before an expected emergence of periodical cicadas
• Use netting to protect young trees and fasten securely to prevent birds and other animals from getting stuck. Netting with a mesh no larger than 1/4 inch (.5 cm) will effectively control injury on branches. Remove netting by about July 1
• Tree wrapping with paper tape, spun bond fabric or similar materials can deter egg laying
• Birds and many animals will feed on cicadas but the explosion of the cicada population does not favor effective biological control
• Insecticides are not recommended
• Dead branch tips can be pruned away and discarded to reduce egg hatch in a landscape
• Make sure to keep trees healthy. Provide 1 inch of water per week and stake it as needed for up to one year. Remove turf and other ground covers from around tree to reduce competition for water. Make sure to have chosen and planted tree species correctly on any particular site
• Newly emerged cicadas are edible (by humans too) before their shells harden, and many recipes can be found online.