I talked to several lawn and garden centers and they are running low on cloth covers for your trees that can be damaged by the 17 year periodical cicada.

I’m sure there are plenty of smiling faces this morning watching and hearing about the incoming invasion of these insects. Those smiling are home owners that already had their invasion several years ago like people living north of Beckley, Charleston and Ripley, West Virginia and north of Gallia County.

As for you folks in Kentucky that watch WSAZ, don’t hold your breath, all of you will get the bugs this year. Sorry about that. Lots of homeowners have expressed concern as to wether or not the cicada will damage their shrubs and flowers. As far as I can research, they only attack oaks, maples, dogwoods, apple and crabapple trees. I have heard raspberries are on their menu so I would cover them just in case they get a sweet tooth. Actually they eat nothing, absolutemente nada; they just injure the plants by laying their eggs in susceptible branches about the size of your pinky finger. Look for them from today to around the 15 of this month. They will be later in emerging in higher elevations.