Big Bugs, Big Cleanup: Getting Your Pond Through Cicada Season
Hearing that wall of buzzing and wondering what it means for your pond? Worried about hundreds of cicadas dropping into the water?
Not sure whether your fish will eat them or just pile them up?
In this post, you’ll learn what cicadas do to a backyard pond, how to keep your water clean and healthy during an emergence, and which maintenance steps matter most.
By the end, you’ll know how to protect your pond through cicada season here in Maryland.
What Cicada Season Means For Your Pond
Cicada season raises your pond maintenance load because large numbers of cicadas fall into the water, sink, and decompose.
That decay can pull oxygen out of the water and feed algae, so your job shifts to keeping cicadas out and your filtration running clean.
The core steps are covering the pond, cleaning skimmers and filters more often, and keeping the water aerated until the emergence ends.
How Cicadas Affect Your Pond
Cicadas are clumsy fliers, and during an emergence, they crash into almost everything, including open water.
Once they land on the surface, many cannot climb out, so they drown and sink to the bottom of the pond.
A few stray bugs are nothing to worry about, but a heavy emergence can drop a lot of organic material into the water in a short time.
Periodical cicadas come out in massive numbers every 13 or 17 years, while smaller dog-day cicadas show up every summer.
A single periodical brood can put hundreds of thousands of bugs in the air per acre, so the load on a pond is unlike anything a normal summer brings.
The large periodical broods are the ones that overwhelm a pond, and in our region, those broods cover Maryland, Washington DC, and Northern Virginia.
On top of the bodies, cicadas leave behind shed exoskeletons that float and collect in the same corners, giving your pond even more to handle.
As all of that material breaks down, it uses up oxygen and releases nutrients that can trigger the kind of algae bloom you then have to control.
In a small or shallow pond, that swing happens fast, which is why cicada season needs closer attention than a normal week.
Do Koi And Goldfish Eat Cicadas?
This is the first question most pond owners ask, and the honest answer is that it depends.
Some fish will pick at cicadas that land on the surface, and larger koi and goldfish are the most likely to try, since surface feeding is normal koi behavior.
Cicadas and their shells collect in the skimmer basket, which normally keeps debris off the water and across your filter media, slowing water flow and letting debris build up.
Even in ponds where the fish do snack on them, a big emergence simply drops more cicadas than any fish could keep up with.
The safer approach is to treat every cicada as debris you will need to remove, not as free fish food.
Keeping Cicadas Out Of The Pond
The simplest way to manage cicadas is to stop them from reaching the water in the first place.
Covering the pond with netting or fine mesh during peak emergence keeps most of the bugs off the surface.
A finer mesh works better than a loose-leaf net here, since cicadas and their shells can slip through wide gaps.
We install pond netting for our clients to block leaves and debris and to shield fish from herons and other predators, and that same netting works well against a wave of cicadas.
Pin the edges down so bugs cannot crawl in underneath, and plan to set the cover in place as soon as you hear the first heavy chorus.
A cover also makes cleanup much easier, since you can lift it off and shake the bugs out rather than skimming them one at a time.
For a small pond, a single fitted net can carry you through the entire few weeks of an emergence.
Cleaning Skimmers And Filters More Often
During a cicada emergence, your skimmer and filters do double duty, and they clog faster than usual.
Cicadas and their shells collect in the skimmer basket and on your filter media, slowing water flow and allowing debris to build up.
Our ponds run an Aquascape 2500 BioFalls that handles biological filtration, and a skimmer that pulls debris off the surface; both need more frequent cleaning when cicadas are falling.
Emptying the skimmer basket every few days during the worst of it keeps the water moving and stops a backup before it starts.
It also helps to rinse your filter pads when they load up, so water keeps passing through them instead of pushing around them.
Check the pump intake while you are there, because a screen packed with cicada parts can starve the pump and strain it.
If you let a clogged skimmer sit, the debris that should have been pulled out simply sinks and rots on the bottom instead.
Protecting Oxygen And Water Quality
The biggest risk during cicada season is not the bugs themselves but what happens as they rot.
A pile of decomposing cicadas pulls dissolved oxygen out of the water, and low oxygen is dangerous for your fish.
We add aeration systems to our ponds to raise dissolved oxygen, which matters most during the hot stretch of summer when cicada season overlaps with the warmest water.
Watch your fish for early warning signs, such as gulping at the surface in the morning, which often indicates low oxygen levels.
Go easy on feeding during a heavy emergence, too, since uneaten food adds to the already-climbing nutrient load.
Running aeration, quickly removing dead cicadas, and watching for cloudy or foamy water all help you stay ahead of an algae bloom.
If the water starts to turn, that is your signal to step up removal and get help before your fish are at risk.
How We Handle Cicada Season For Pond Owners
A cicada emergence lasts only a few weeks, but it can undo months of clear water if a pond is left alone.
At Premier Ponds, our seasonal maintenance covers exactly this kind of work, including cleaning filters, power-washing waterfalls and streams, and trimming plants throughout the summer.
We have cleaned thousands of ponds across the region, so we know how quickly a clogged system can cloud the water and how to restore clarity.
For homeowners across Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, we can schedule extra visits during an emergency so the cleanup never gets ahead of you.
As an Aquascape Certified contractor who has built more than 2,000 ponds since 2001, we know what a healthy pond should look like and how to get yours back to that state fast.
Clear Water Through Cicada Season Starts With Premier Ponds
We keep ponds healthy through cicada season with hands-on seasonal maintenance, from cleaning clogged filters to power washing waterfalls and clearing debris before it can rot. As an Aquascape Certified contractor with more than 2,000 ponds built since 2001, we know how to quickly restore water clarity when an emergency hits.
Fill out our contact form today or give us a call, and we can schedule extra maintenance visits timed to the emergence so the cleanup never gets ahead of you. That way, your fish stay safe, and your water stays clear while the bugs run their course.
