As 2024 Illinois cicada emergence comes to end, here's what to do with netting, dead bugs

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The cicada invasion is coming to an end in Illinois.

Now, residents just have to deal with the dead bugs and tree netting.

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Spencer Campbell with the Morton Arboretum joined ABC7 Chicago Monday to talk about what to do.

Instead of discarding cicada carcasses and exoskeletons in the garbage or landscape waste, the arboretum suggests scattering them on lawns or garden beds as fertilizer.

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Cicadas can also be added to a compost pile, but not alone. Mix them with green plant material, such as weeds or lawn clippings, as well as dried leaves or other brown material, the arboretum said.

Once the cicadas are gone, netting should be removed from trees and shrubs because it can block sunlight.

For more information, visit mortonarb.org/cicadas2024.