A wasp nearly two inches long buzzes past your head while you mow. A dozen more seem to be patrolling the bare patch by the driveway, and one flies straight at your face before swerving off at the last second. It’s a reasonable thing to worry about: what would a cicada killer sting do to you, your kids, or your dog?
For non-aggressive wasps I've had great luck spraying nests with this Spectracide wasp remover in the evening. For a nest up high in an eave, soffit, or tree, this Gotcha pole adapter clamps onto the can so you can spray from the end of an extension pole and treat the nest from 10+ feet away instead of standing right under it. And for anything aggressive I wear this ridiculous-looking upper torso beekeeping suit and keep my distance. It seems silly, but trust me, I learned the hard way.
The short answer is reassuring. A cicada killer sting is rare, usually mild, and treatable at home for almost everyone. The big wasps that chase you across the lawn are males, and males have no stinger. The females can sting, but they keep that sting for paralyzing cicadas and almost never use it on people unless someone grabs one or steps on one barefoot.
This guide covers who can and can’t sting, what a cicada killer sting feels and looks like, step-by-step first aid, the warning signs that need a doctor, and how to keep your family from getting stung in the first place. For the full picture on identification, life cycle, and the burrows in your lawn, see our cicada killer wasp hub guide.
Most of the fear around cicada killers comes from mixing up the two sexes. They look almost identical, but they behave very differently.
In every stinging wasp and bee, the stinger is a modified egg-laying tube (an ovipositor). Only females have one. Male cicada killers emerge a week or two before the females each summer. They stake out small territories over the nesting area, perch on low plants or the edge of a burrow, and launch at anything that moves through: other males, flying insects, tossed pebbles, and people.
That’s the behavior people describe as “attacking.” A male may hover a few inches from your face, follow you a short way, or bump into you. He’s checking whether you’re a rival or a female. He can’t hurt you. If someone picks up a male, he may push the tip of his abdomen against their fingers. That can feel like a slight prick, but no venom goes in.
Females are bigger, often 1.5 to 2 inches long, and spend their short adult lives digging burrows and hunting cicadas in the treetops. Each one uses her sting to paralyze a cicada, carries it back to her burrow, and lays an egg on it. Her venom works to keep prey alive but still, and she has every reason to save it for that job.
Females also don’t defend their burrows the way social wasps defend a nest. A cicada killer has no colony, no queen, and no stored brood that depends on a group defense. If you walk past an active burrow, the female will usually just wait or fly off. That’s why a lawn with dozens of cicada killer holes is far less dangerous than a single yellow jacket nest, where hundreds of workers will pour out to defend the colony.
Nearly every cicada killer sting comes down to physical contact with a female. The common situations are:
What doesn’t usually trigger a sting: mowing near the burrows, walking past, standing still while males buzz you, or letting kids play nearby while the wasps go about their business.
People who’ve been stung usually describe a sharp, pinprick-like jab followed by a burning or stinging sensation at the site. Schmidt, who ranked hundreds of insect stings from personal experience, put the cicada killer near the bottom of his 1-to-4 scale, at roughly 1.5. For comparison:
| Insect | Approximate Schmidt rating | Typical sharp-pain duration |
|---|---|---|
| Cicada killer | ~1.5 | 1–2 minutes |
| Yellow jacket | 2 | About 2 minutes |
| Honey bee | 2 | 4–10 minutes |
| Paper wasp | 3 | 5–10 minutes |
| Velvet ant (“cow killer”) | 3 | About 30 minutes |
| Tarantula hawk | 4 | About 5 minutes |
Size doesn’t predict sting pain in wasps, and the cicada killer proves it. It’s one of the largest wasps in North America, yet its sting is milder than a half-inch yellow jacket’s. Our wasp sting pain scale compares the common species in more detail.
Individual reactions vary. A sting on the fingertip, sole of the foot, or face tends to hurt more than one on the arm or thigh. Someone stung repeatedly while holding a wasp will feel it more than someone stung once.
A typical cicada killer sting looks much like any other wasp sting:
Because the stinger is smooth, there’s nothing left in the skin to remove. If you see a stinger with a small sac attached, a honey bee stung you, not a wasp. See wasp stinger in skin for how to tell the difference.
Some people get a large local reaction: swelling that spreads well beyond the sting, sometimes across a whole hand or forearm. It peaks 24 to 48 hours after the sting and can take up to a week to go down. That reaction is uncomfortable but usually not dangerous. Our guide to wasp sting swelling explains what’s normal and what isn’t.
For most people, home first aid is all a cicada killer sting needs.
Skip the folk remedies that can irritate skin, like tobacco paste, bleach, or meat tenderizer rubbed in hard. They don’t neutralize venom and can make things worse. For a rundown of what helps and what doesn’t, see what to put on a wasp sting.
For a fuller timeline that applies to most wasp stings, read how long does a wasp sting last.
Cicada killer venom is mild, but any stinging insect can trigger a serious allergic reaction in a sensitive person. An allergic reaction depends on the person’s immune system, not on how big or painful the insect is.
If the person carries an epinephrine auto-injector, use it as prescribed and still call 911. Symptoms can come back after the first dose wears off. Our guide to allergic reactions to wasp stings covers anaphylaxis in detail.
Spreading redness and warmth that show up several days after the sting can point to infection rather than a venom reaction. See wasp sting infection for the signs.
Because cicada killers are so rarely the culprit, it’s worth asking what else might have stung you, especially if you were stung while walking through the yard rather than holding a wasp. A few insects share the same habitat and season and are far more willing to sting.
Eastern and southern yellow jackets often nest underground in the same lawns. Their nest has a single entrance hole with a steady stream of small yellow-and-black wasps flying in and out, and the colony defends it fiercely. If you were stung several times after mowing over or stepping near a hole, yellow jackets are the likely cause. Our wasps in grass guide covers telling these nests apart, and the cicada killer nest guide shows what a true cicada killer burrow looks like (a single hole with a horseshoe-shaped fan of loose soil).
Velvet ants are wingless female wasps covered in bright red or orange fuzz. Some species lay their eggs in cicada killer burrows, so you’ll often see them wandering across the same bare soil. Their sting is much more painful than a cicada killer’s, and they’ll use it if touched or stepped on. See the velvet ant guide.
The European hornet is a large brown-and-yellow social wasp that’s often mistaken for a cicada killer. Unlike cicada killers, it lives in colonies inside hollow trees and wall voids, will defend its nest, and often flies to porch lights at night. A sting from a “giant wasp” near a tree or building, especially after dark, is more likely a European hornet.
Great golden digger wasps, great black wasps, and spider wasps often share sunny, sandy patches with cicada killers. Like cicada killers, they’re solitary and rarely sting people. Our giant wasp identification guide helps sort out the big wasps you’re likely to see in a yard.
Most stings in children happen when a child tries to catch a wasp. Teach kids that the big wasps are fine to watch but not touch. Have them wear shoes in the yard during July and August. If a child is stung, follow the same first aid steps, use child-appropriate medication doses, and watch closely for signs of an allergic reaction for the next hour.
Dogs that snap at low-flying wasps occasionally catch a female and get stung on the muzzle, lips, or inside the mouth. Most of these stings cause brief pain, pawing at the face, and mild swelling. Get to a veterinarian right away if your pet has facial swelling that keeps spreading, trouble breathing, vomiting, weakness, or collapse. Don’t give human medications without a vet’s guidance, because doses differ and some products are dangerous to pets. See our guides for a dog stung by a wasp and a cat stung by a wasp.
A few simple habits make a cicada killer sting very unlikely:
For most households, no. Cicada killers sting so rarely and so mildly that the risk is very low, and the adults only live a few weeks. They’re also beneficial: they help keep cicada numbers in check and don’t damage homes or chew wood. By early fall the adults die off, and the next generation stays underground until the following summer.
Control may make sense if burrows sit right along a busy path, a play area, or a pool deck, or if someone in the household has a serious sting allergy. In those cases, the most effective long-term approach is to make the area less attractive to nesting females:
Never pour gasoline or other flammable liquids into burrows. It’s a fire and health hazard, contaminates soil, and isn’t needed for a wasp that’s this low-risk. Our wasp control guide covers safer options for every type of wasp.
They’re venomous, not poisonous, which means they can inject venom through a sting but aren’t harmful to touch or eat. Their venom is designed to paralyze insects and is mild in people. The main risk is an allergic reaction in someone who’s sensitive to wasp venom.
Yes. Like most wasps, a female has a smooth stinger and can sting repeatedly if she stays trapped against skin. That’s one reason to brush off, rather than grab, a wasp that lands on you. See can wasps sting more than once for more.
Males fly at people, but they’re investigating, not attacking, and they can’t sting. Females ignore people almost entirely. If a big wasp is following you around the yard, it’s almost certainly a male.
It’s very unlikely. Stings happen when a female is touched, grabbed, or stepped on. Shoes and a “look but don’t touch” rule take care of nearly all of the risk.
For most people, it’s milder. Honey bee stings tend to hurt longer, and the barbed stinger keeps pumping venom until it’s removed. Our bee sting vs wasp sting guide compares the two.
Anyone with an allergy to stinging insects should be cautious around all wasps. Cicada killers are rarely involved in serious reactions simply because they sting so rarely. If you’ve ever had a severe reaction to any sting, talk to your doctor about carrying epinephrine and about venom allergy testing.
The cicada killer looks like the scariest insect in the yard and acts like one of the gentlest. The males that dive at you can’t sting, and the females sting only when they’re handled, trapped, or stepped on. When a sting does happen, it’s usually a brief, sharp pinprick that settles down with washing, a cold compress, and an antihistamine.
Keep shoes on during late summer, teach kids not to catch the wasps, and watch for the signs of an allergic reaction. If you were stung while walking past a hole in the lawn, look closely at what’s flying in and out. A busy entrance with small yellow-and-black wasps points to yellow jackets, and that’s the nest worth dealing with.
This article is for general educational purposes and isn’t a substitute for professional medical advice. If you or someone with you shows signs of a severe allergic reaction after a sting, such as trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or dizziness, call 911 immediately.