I Surrender!

Our "nice" yard

I'm giving up.  It is a losing battle.  They're back, in record numbers.  I'm not talking about the cicadas whose noise can drive you mad.  I'm talking about their foes, the cicada killers.  They come to kill the cicadas and drag them to amazing tunnels which they have dug where the bodies are stored to fertilize their eggs.  Until four years ago I had never heard of this insect.  But now I know more about them than I ever wanted to know.  They have been appearing in our yard now abut the beginning of each August for several years.  This year they have probably already dug about 60 new holes in what was once a nice looking backyard.  And this year they have expanded their damage to other parts of our lawn and it is beginning to look like a battlefield.  I have contacted lawn specialists who tell me there is nothing that I can do but put up with them.  I have tried hitting them with plastic bats and even an electrified tennis racket.  But all that I have accomplished is maybe improving my swing and definitely getting tired.  I have tried closing their tunnels and all that has produced is a yard full of patched holes.  Hopefully we will have a good spring and the grass will grow back again, at least in in some of the areas.  Then we may have a nice looking lawn again, until next August.  They are remarkable creatures and fortunately they don't sting.  We have dodged each other when I am using my riding mower, but they are quick and generally avoid me, unless they are caught entering or exiting one of their tunnels.   Then I often win.  They are interesting to watch, especially when they capture a cicada and carry it to their tunnel.  But why couldn't they share this pleasure with one of our neighbors.  To the best of my knowledge, we are the only ones being hit annually, at least in our immediate neighborhood.  Probably it is the number of trees on our property which provide good hunting grounds for the killers.  If you've never seen one, go do an internet search and learn much more about one of God's most unusual creations.  The Scripture says that "all things work together for good".  Does that include cicda killers?  So far the only good thing I've seen coming out of our experiences with them is that it has given me material for another blog.

Killer at work

Entering a tunnel

Tunnel entrance