Cicadas could harm tree canopy in Middle TN
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As Tennessee residents deal with the emergence of a new cicada season, there are concerns about the impact on the state’s trees.
Tennessee Tech University professor and horticulturist Dr. Douglas Airhart researched ways to prevent damage to nursery stock when these species of cicadas emerge in large numbers. The 17-year and the 13-year periodical cicadas are scheduled to emerge in Middle Tennessee in 2024 and 2025. According to Dr. Airhart, depending on the type of tree, cicadas can cause 50% to 80% loss of canopy.
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“Because of these egg laid activities that take place they’ve got little saw blades at the end of the females abdomen, she cuts a slit, lays three or four eggs, moves on, cuts another slit,” Dr. Airhart explained. “So, those slits puncture the water system within the tree, the outer branches, the outer limbs of that branch, start to wilt, and they’ll turn brown. And that’s what people see is. It’s called flagging, you’ll see the tree and it’s going to have brown leaves on the tips of the branches throughout the canopy. So we’re trying to prevent that.”
Airhart explained that younger trees are more vulnerable as well as oak, maple, hickory, birch, and dogwood. A homeowners best bet is to use netting to protect trees from damage.
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“If you have one or two, three trees, you can bind netting,” he said. “It needs to be not much bigger than a quarter inch hole though. If you can get your little finger barely through it that should be satisfactory. A thumb hole size hole could let cicada get in. They’re smaller this year than they will be next year. So they might be able to get in there and do some damage.”
He said people can buy shade cloth, tobacco cloth, cheese cloth and cover the canopy tightly around the trunk so the cicadas can’t get to it from above or below.
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