The Bug Girl breaks down the threat cicadas pose to your home

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Janelle Iaccino just loves educating people all about cicadas.

“When I do school presentations it’s usually for little kids, like kindergarten age, we talk about metamorphosis and exoskeletons, we count the legs together, and we talk about all the things that eat cicadas,” Iaccino said while holding a plush cicada at the Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Rockford.

Iaccino is known as The Bug Girl. She’s developed a reputation for her knowledge of bugs and insects. She’s been busy traveling the region teaching people about cicadas. She said most of her talks have been trying to downplay the fears surrounding the insects.

“These don’t bite, they don’t sting, they don’t have any weird toxins or anything like that, but the thing to worry about is the massive populations of them,” she said.

Iaccino is also with Rose Pest Solutions. She said there’s no real reason to fear cicadas as far any damage that might occur when the invasion arrives. In her words, cicadas are rather harmless. Plus, she says they provide several benefits to the ecosystem. Their decomposing bodies provide nourishment to the soil, their burrow holes in the ground help aerate your lawn, and animals like birds, opossums, and raccoons will also benefit from the additional, easily accessible food source.

“It’s not a threat to our health, it’s not a threat to our homes or businesses,” she said.

She said there are a few things to look out for, though. First is protecting young trees, ornamental shrubs, and other plants with woody stems and branches. We can protect them, she said, by creating a physical barrier. She said you should wrap saplings under four years of age with netting. The holes should be 1 centimeter or smaller to prevent the bugs from sneaking through.

She said it’s also critical to keep a well-manicured lawn with minimal soil patches to help prevent cicadas from burrowing at the end of the season. This can reduce the number of cicadas that emerge the next time they come around.

She said there are a few proven ways you can protect your home if you’re concerned. Patch screens and make sure any open windows or doors are sealed with a well-maintained screen. She said it’s also a good idea to cover patio furniture, pool, and hot tub.

She said after the cicadas are gone, it’s important to clean out your gutters and around the exterior of your house. She points to the accumulation of exoskeletons clogging gutters and not raking up foliage can lead to standing water which could attract what she considers to be an actual threat, mosquitoes.

Other than that, The Bug Girl says sit back, relax, and enjoy the oncoming broods.

Elly Salazar works as the education and programming coordinator at the Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden. She said Klehm is offering some educational experiences for the cicada’s arrival. She said several young trees on their grounds are covered by nets. Overall, though, she’s excited to welcome the cicadas.

“This doesn’t come around very often,” Salazar said. “The last time we had a double brood here was hundreds of years ago and won’t be in our lifetime again. It’s a really great opportunity to learn about these amazing species and what they do for our ecosystem.”

Iaccino says, bottom line, don’t be afraid on the broods.

“Nature’s going to run its course, and you know we just got to kind of find that harmony and live in a balance with them,” she said. “Nature is a wonderful thing. We are meant to exist with it and the more we know and understand about it, the more we’ll have a better environment together.”

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