Expert: Jack DeAngelis - 8/8/2009

Question
Hi,

I live in CT and for the past few summers have been bothered by large flying insects that seem to live in the ground.  They reappeared last week and tend to hover about 6 inches from the grass and make a loud buzzing sound.  The difference this year is that they will swarm us when we go outside.  They are about 1 to 2 inches long and have yellow rings around the body with rusty brownn colored wings.  I would like to know what they may be and how to get rid of them.

Thank you.

Answer
Jean,

I think you are describing a cicada killer wasp. Despite the name these relatively non-aggressive wasps are fairly harmless. They will sting but are not as aggressive as yellowjacket wasps and don't swarm as do other wasps. They nest in the soil and prey on cicada insects. The best way to discourage them from nesting in your yard is to reduce the amount of bare ground. Encourage grass to grow or cover ground with mulch or a groundcover plant. Here's a wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_cicada_killer that may be useful.

Jack DeAngelis, PhD
Extension Entomologist (ret.)
My website about home and garden pests: http://www.livingwithbugs.com