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Cicada Killer Wasps are sometimes called Digger Wasps BUT NOT all Digger Wasps are Cicada Killers. There are a lot of wasps that dig into the ground. Cicada Killer Wasps appear year after year unless treated. The best way to prevent Cicada Killers or Digger Wasps is to have a great lawn. Cicada Killers just can’t burrow into a thick covering of grass. You’ll need to fertilize, water, and plant extra grass seed to maintain a healthy lawn and keep these nasty insects away. If Cicada Killers or Digger Wasps are digging holes in your planting beds, put down landscape fabric and mulch. Also, you could add a layer of fine gravel. Nothing can terrify a homeowner more than seeing scary looking wasps in their yard.
Cicada Killers or Digger Wasps Facts
Cicada Killers or Digger Wasps are a part of the solitary wasp family, which means that if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone too. We’re seeing a lot of them out lately because the adults emerge in the spring to mate and build their nests. They dig holes to form a burrow and then hunt for cicadas. Burrows are most commonly found in ornamental beds or under trees or tall foliage plants where there are areas of bare soil.
The Cicada Killer Wasp spends the winter as a larva within a cocoon in their burrows. They emerge in the spring and continue to breed throughout the summer. The adult female feeds, mates, and digs burrows for several weeks before preying on cicadas.
These large wasps have a rusty red head with a black and yellow striped abdomen. They get grow to over 2 inches long. Their wings are yellowish.
While they don’t pose an immediate threat, a lot of homeowners are alarmed to find them and their stingers burrowing in their lawns, flowerbeds, and gardens. Like other bees and wasps, they will sting if provoked.
If prevention is not possible, please contact Suburban Exterminating to treat your yard for these wasps.
Video of Cicada Killer Wasp or Digger Wasp
Thanks to Andy Revkin of The New York Times for the following video. He’s a reporter on climate, biodiversity, energy, population, disasters, oceans and other related subjects.
