Cicada Killer Wasp and Mining Bee Treatment on Long Island

You have cicada killer wasps or mining bees on your Long Island property if you see small conical dirt mounds in the lawn with a single central hole, giant black-and-yellow wasps flying low over the grass in July and August, or dozens of smaller bees hovering just above bare or sandy soil in April and May. Nassau County South Shore lawns and Suffolk County properties with sandy or compacted soil are prime habitat. Playgrounds, baseball diamond edges, and thin-turf areas along driveways are the most common trouble spots. Numbers can multiply year over year if the burrows are left alone, since females return to the same soil each season.

Bobby Bugs treats cicada killers and mining bees on Long Island by treating each burrow entrance directly, treating the surrounding soil, and recommending turf improvements to make the area unattractive next season. Expect a 6-month written guarantee.

1. 1Free phone triage and species confirmation.
2. 2On-site walk of the yard to map every active burrow.
3. 3Direct treatment of each burrow entrance with a professional product.
4. 4Surface treatment of surrounding thin turf and bare soil.
5. 5Turf-density and overseeding recommendations for long-term prevention.
6. 6Written 6-month guarantee against renewed activity in the same area.

Cicada killer and mining bee activity on treated Long Island lawns drops sharply within 24 to 72 hours after burrow treatment, with visible flying activity typically at zero inside a week. Because these species emerge from soil year over year, the 6-month written guarantee covers the remainder of the current season. Turf-density improvement is the single biggest factor in preventing return activity the following year.

To keep cicada killers from digging in a Long Island yard, take away the bare, sandy, sunny ground they need. Ohio State entomologists note cicada killers nest where soils are well drained and vegetation is sparse, in full sun, which describes a thin south-facing lawn, the edge of a patio, a sand-based playground, or the bare strip along a driveway on most of Long Island's sandy soil. Thicken the turf with overseeding and regular watering, mulch or plant bare beds, and cover the bare edges along walkways and patios. The adults emerge around the first week of July, live 60 to 75 days, and are gone by early fall, so a yard fixed in spring is a yard that stays quiet in summer. Males can't sting and females rarely do, but a lawn full of two-inch wasps dive-bombing anyone who walks across it is still a lawn nobody wants to use in July.

• Ronkonkoma

  Sandy central Suffolk lawns and driveway edges in full sun.

• Medford

  Pine barrens sand under every lawn, bare patches everywhere.

• Holbrook

  1960s and 1970s lots on sandy ground with thin south-facing turf.

• Selden

  Sandy soil under slabs, walkways and patio edges across the hamlet.

• Massapequa

  Sandy South Shore lots with sunny front lawns and patio borders.

• Levittown

  Thin lawns and bare strips along driveways on the old Hempstead Plains.

• Hicksville

  Sunny postwar lots with concrete patios and sandy edges.

• Bethpage

  Sandy central Nassau ground and open lawns near the state park.

• Visit our full services list.
• See every area we serve across Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and The Bronx.
• See our wasp and hornet nest removal page.
• See our tick control page.

Cicada killer and mining bee treatment cost on Long Island depends on how many burrows are active across the lawn. A handful of mounds along a Bay Shore walkway is a small job; a full colony scattered through a sunny, dry South Shore lawn in July means treating dozens of individual burrows, which takes more material and more time. Property size and the spread of the burrows are the main drivers. Most lawns need just one visit per season. Bobby Bugs gives you a free written quote before any work begins, and the number on the invoice matches the quote. Every cicada killer treatment includes the 6-month written guarantee.