Katydid Control: How to Get Rid of Katydids

This page is a general katydid control guide. Using the products and methods suggested, you will get control of katydids. Follow this guide and use the recommended products; we guarantee 100% control of katydids.

By July, summer nights are filled with the loud noise of katydids, one of the most common and universal pests across the United States. Katydids, also called long-horned grasshoppers or bush crickets, are a type of grasshopper that is often not seen because they usually stay among the foliage, where their green color protects them from predators.

While they may closely resemble grasshoppers, katydids are more leaf-like in appearance. They generally feast on the leaves and fruits of plants, although other species eat other insects. In small numbers, katydids are not considered an immediate threat, but the risk of plant damage increases when the population grows.

Growing foliage, katydids can stunt tree and other plant growth and even damage the fruit to the point of being uneatable or marketable. By following the steps and products listed in our DIY guide, you can control katydid populations, which helps lessen plant damage and insecticide application.

Identification

Before you can proceed with treatment, you will need to be certain that you are facing a katydid infestation. Misidentification leads to using the wrong treatment method, which in turn wastes time and money. There are thousands of katydid species worldwide, but only a few can be found in North America. Knowing what katydids look like aids in proper control and avoids confusion with other pests like grasshoppers, which look strikingly similar to this pest.

• Katydids are green-winged pests with long legs, resembling grasshoppers or crickets. The main difference between them is their long, thin antennae, which can be longer than their body. In contrast, grasshopper antennae are short and thick. Katydids also have legs aligned with their body, whereas crickets have arched legs perpendicular to their body.
• Although they have wings with veins that are similar in appearance to tree leaves, the katydids cannot fly. With their wings, they can float downwards, crawl, or jump to travel.
• Adult katydids are always vibrant green, while the nymphs take on the color of whatever they have been eating. During their nymph stage, this could be orange, yellow, or pink, but towards adulthood, they will permanently remain bright green. Grasshoppers can be green, too, but they can also be yellow, brown, and other colors, usually with a speckled pattern.
• Female katydids have long, pointed ovipositors that you may see extending past the wings. Grasshoppers, on the other hand, have shorter, blunt ovipositors.

Use the image and description above to properly identify katydids on your plants and around your property. If unsure, contact us through email or phone, or stop by in person at one of our store locations with a pest sample in a sealable plastic container. This will help us assist in proper pest identification and suggest the appropriate treatment method.

Inspection

Once you have confirmed that the pest you are dealing with is katydids, you can proceed with the inspection. During this phase, you determine where katydids are found and the conditions allowing them to thrive.

Where to Look

There are about 6,000 species of katydids, and they can be found in every region of the world on trees, shrubs, bushes, or grasses in suburban or rural areas. Many katydids are masters of camouflage, often resembling leaves and trees in their environment.

The nymphs are known to do more damage than the adults since they tend to hang around one spot, whereas adult katydids jump around more frequently. Look for other insect activity, like aphids, as those are also prey for katydids.

What to Look For

Other than searching for them, the best way to determine if you have katydids is to listen for the chirps they make when they mate. To attract the opposite sex, these pests rub their wings together. Depending on the species, they may sound like swishy buzzes, rattles, shuffles, purrs, or drawn-out soft buzzing noises.

As omnivores, these pests can eat a variety of plant leaves, stems, or fruits, as well as other slow-moving insects like aphids or dead insects. Katydids are night-feeding pests that chew along the leaf's edge as adults and in the middle of the leaf during their nymph stage, creating small holes.

Treatment

If you have confirmed that katydids are infesting your plants, then it's time to begin treatment. Before beginning with any type of pesticide application, you will need to wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE). Though gentle, some katydids have been known to bite or pinch people when threatened, so you will need to wear gloves.

Katydids are most affected by pyrethroid, spinosad, organophosphate, or carbamate-type insecticides. Female katydids deposit their eggs in soil, plant stems, or tree bark during June and July and can overwinter to survive harsh winters. For this reason, we recommend you apply a residual insecticide from June to August, as this is when adults will appear, begin to feed, and produce another generation of pests.

Step 1: Trim Vegetation

During the day, katydids rest in overgrown areas such as shrubs, trees, and turfgrass. When night falls, they emerge and begin to feed on these sites. Therefore, you will need to clean up your yard and trim vegetation around your home to reduce the sites katydids may harbor before making your pesticide applications. 

Eliminate their habitats and food sources by mowing when turfgrass has reached 3 inches in height and promptly disposing of grass clippings. Prune away overgrown stems, branches, and leaves of shrubbery and trees to limit hiding spots for katydids and deter pests they may feed upon. You must also rake any fallen leaf litter and pick up other plant debris.

Step 2: Spray Residual Insecticide

Katydids spend most of their lives in higher elevated spaces like trees for safety and food sources, so to reach these sites, use a hose-end sprayer. 

Even if you cannot visibly see katydids, you must spray the trees, shrubs, and turfgrass with a residual insecticide like Supreme IT during the day. Avoid making nighttime applications as the insecticide will not have enough time to dry. Supreme IT is a residual pyrethroid insecticide that controls over 70 pests in ornamental landscapes, trees, shrubs, turfgrass, non-bearing fruit and nut trees, and other terrains. It leaves a residual effect that will control treated areas for up to 90 days.

To treat katydids with Supreme IT, mix the product with water in a hose-end sprayer. Determine how much Supreme IT to use by measuring the square footage of the treatment area. Measure the length and width of the treatment area in feet, then multiply them together (length X width = square footage).

To treat ornamentals such as shrubs and trees, apply 10.8 to 21.7 fl. oz. of Supreme IT per 100 gallons of water. For broadcast treatments across lawns, use 0.25 to 0.5 fl. oz. of product per 1 gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft.

Apply your mixed solution over ornamentals and shrubbery, treating any leaves' top and bottom. Also, spray around trees 3 feet up the trunk and several feet out. To reach the tree's branches or any other tall areas, remove the Solutions Hose End Sprayer tip for a powerful solution stream.

Allow the treated areas to dry completely. Insects that make contact with the spray or its residual effect will have their nervous systems impacted and will die in several hours.

Prevention

After successfully eliminating katydids from your property, you will want to ensure these pests do not return. To prevent katydids, we suggest following the recommended practices to keep katydids away:

• Keep up with routine lawn care and maintenance to ensure katydids do not reinfest your property. Maintain your trees and shrubs, and continue to mow your lawn regularly when the grass grows too tall. Proper care will reduce the number of spots katydids have to hide in.
• Katydids are nocturnal pests that come towards your home when bright lights are present. Turn off porch lights and other outdoor fixtures to deter this pest. You may also want to consider installing an outdoor light trap.
• Using a residual insecticide like Supreme IT, regularly apply applications quarterly to repel katydids throughout the year.

Key Takeaways

What are Katydids?

• Katydids are invasive and noisy pests that feed on trees, shrubs, and turf.

How to Get Rid of Katydids

• To kill katydids around your home and plants, eliminate overgrown vegetation by mowing and pruning. You must also apply Supreme IT to shrubs, trees, and turfgrass.

Prevent Katydid Reinfestation

• Keep up with ongoing plant and turf maintenance throughout the year to deter hiding and food sources for katydids. Spray Supreme IT every quarter from June to July to prevent this pest.