Jacksonville, Ill (WAND) – Spring is here and you are getting ready to plant your garden with some vegetables and fruits. But do you have to deal with the massive invasion of cicadas on the road in May?
We spoke with Ken Johnson at Illinois Extension in Jacksonville. Ken is a horticulture educator and knowledgeable about cicada diets. What they like and don’t like. As for your garden, feel free to plant the cicadas have no interest in it.
“They feed primarily on woody plant material and lay their eggs in trees,” Johnson said. “So, your herbaceous things, your tomatoes, cucumbers everything will leave them alone.”
Johnson tells WAND News that mature trees have no problem with cicadas. However, he says that younger or newly planted trees should be covered with netting to keep the bugs out.
