Overshadowed by the racket from one of the most widespread waves of the loudest and most apparent type of insect that Metuchen homeowners have experienced in many years is the damage that the insects are wreaking on trees around the borough. Cicadas drop out of the sky by the thousands, but underneath the noise, other lawn pests are silently wreaking havoc on your turf simultaneously.
While it is important to seek professional help from Alliance Pest Services, you can take a look at our detailed guide below until professional services happen.
What the Surge in Tree Buzzing Means for Your Yard?
That constant drone is not only annoying but also an omen of mass cicada emergence. Cicadas, mostly living underground and sucking out tree root sap for most of their lives before coming out for a brief mating and egg-laying season.
New Jersey is home to periodic cicadas that emerge on 13- and 17-year cycles, and some species emerge every year in lower numbers. They are extremely numerous when they finally break out. The upside is that adult cicadas do not feed on plants and do not directly harm lawns. What happens before and after those moments is the true problem.
After many years underground as nymphs feeding on tree roots, the insects eventually emerge as adults, a process that can take a toll on trees over the long term. The small slits their eggs create in tree branches can weaken the limbs, primarily affecting younger or smaller trees on your property.
When Lawn Damage Isn’t Just Cicadas
This is where it gets a little tricky for homeowners in Metuchen. Sure, cicadas steal the limelight: They’re high profile: noise, visible. But they are not the pest really shredding your lawn. However, if you see brown areas, sparse grass, or strips of sod that peel back easily, the culprit is almost certainly grubs.
During the same warm months when the cicadas were playing in your yard, grubs are peaking and directly feeding on grass roots underground. Grub damage usually takes time to appear, with larvae feeding for weeks and the damage not visibly apparent until late summer, according to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
An easy spot test: If you can pull up a patch of sod with little to no resistance, you likely have grubs living under the grass. While cicadas can stress lawns, the true culprit behind the damage we see is likely grubs.
The Overlap That Confuses Homeowners
The confusion is caused by timing. The cicadas emerge, the yard looks rougher, and the logical conclusion is that the two are related. In fact, you will have two distinct pest pressures occurring simultaneously.
Cicadas are stressing trees above ground while grubs are destroying grass roots below ground-all at the same time and in the same yard. Furthermore, additional pests, such as sod webworms and chinch bugs, become active in the mid-summer months in central New Jersey. When it comes to plant feeders, sod webworms eat grass blades at night, leaving small frass pellets that can go unnoticed, and chinch bugs suck out the juices from the grass, first causing the grass to yellow and then turn brown and die completely.
Stabilizing Your Yard During Peak Insect Season
This is where a professional assessment really matters, especially when the damage has already spread or when it is not clear what damage is being caused. To identify and eliminate pests permanently, Metuchen homeowners can work with Alliance Pest Services. They assess soil, grass, and pest conditions to determine which treatments are needed. Using a seasonal approach, they understand that grubs, sod webworms, and cicadas operate on different timelines, and that treating one without the others leaves your lawn vulnerable. If your yard has been suffering this season but you cannot quite pinpoint the problem, they may be able to help identify the issue and address it before significant damage occurs!
