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Cicada invasion!


Bartek

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Hello,

Does enyone have any ideas on how to deal with these noisy incects. This year happens to be an exeptionally bad year as far as cicadas go in the Chicago area. I have heard of people using high frequency radios (the kind you use to confine your dog to your back yard "invissible fence").

Any other suggestions??

Best,

Bartek

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Bartek,

I don't think there is really anything you can do.  They come out in such numbers that any type of "treatment" you may try is like a squirt gun on a forest fire.  Just hope you don't have any outdoor shoots planned in an affected area.

---Matt

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Hi Bartek,

This was posted on our "nzsound.net" awhile back by Dave Madigan.I know Jeff Wexler had trouble with them here in New Zealand when they were shooting"The Last Samurai".He might be able to give you some advice from personal experience.Anyway here's Dave's advice- - -

" I can't claim that there's anything original about what I do to get rid of cicadas.

1) Cicadas are a pest that munch their way through the forest. In NZ, just think of them as minature possums.

2) They tend to live in the trees that they crawled up after the larvae hatched in the ground below.

3) Be prepared to kill any cicada that's within killing range. I use my bare hannds, cans of inspect spray and a pump sprayer of pyrethrum.

4) Go to the site one week before the start of the shoot and start hosing down the trees. The purpose of the exercise is to encourage them to move to more distant trees. Most tend not to come back.

5) Get production to hire a cicada wrangler or preferably two wranglers. They should lay out hoses ever day of location production and continue the spraying. I also equip them with water filled super soakers and very long mic booms to bump individual cicadas out of trees. Do not use VDB's or similar thin construction booms - they will break.

6) Use microphones with a smooth off axis response such as an MKH 50.

7) Pray for a cloudy day and cooler weather.

David Madigan

Auckland "

Many thanks to Dave for his advice.

Best Wishes,

Brian (BVS)

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