<\/p>\nan initiative launched by the constituency\u2019s office<\/p>\n
<\/a> on March 1, which will also spend five months trialling novel ways to control the seasonal swarms of cicadas that fly into the homes near the PIE.<\/p>\n
This will break ground for managing cicada populations in urban tropical environments, which are understudied.<\/p>\n
The single-member constituency\u2019s MP, Mr Desmond Choo, told The Straits Times: \u201cAfter speaking to a lot of experts, and now that we are advised (on the measures), we want to do something that is more foundational and structural so that we know what works for us year on year.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur larger view is that we don\u2019t only want to care for Tampines Changkat residents, but we also want to build up a national understanding of the issue so that in the event that it spreads beyond Tampines, the rest of the country will be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing some 80 residents at a town hall on cicadas on March 1, Mr Choo said his team has tried many methods since late 2018, when they started receiving complaints about the annual emergence of cicadas.<\/p>\n
The problem typically occurs around March to June, although the scale has varied over the years.<\/p>\n
The latest emergence was recorded in 2025, during which some 300 cicadas were caught on May 14.<\/p>\n