Those awful cicadas were overwhelming. It was like an alien invasion - the swarms of slow-flying insects humming together to create a din that is nothing less than otherworldly.

As my husband mowed, he would see clouds of them rise from our Autumn Applause maple and from the newly planted blue spruces. They love the lilac, the Aristocrat pear, the hollies, the oaks ... they love them all!

My daughter finished the mowing, and she was sure she would have nightmares about those wide-bodied, red-eyed, screaming creatures. As she rode the mower under the lowest branches of the ash tree and disturbed a winged mob, she swore the cicadas were plotting their revenge for her intrusion.

In the past few weeks, we laughed at the people who had carefully placed protective coverings over their trees. "That won't happen to us. How bad can it be?" we asked ourselves. And, on a much more practical note, we really have too many trees to cover. So, our trees are teeming with these nasty egg-layers, and I'm wondering what to do next.

A call to Berry Crutchfield, plant pest biologist for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, gave me good news and bad news.

"They don't feed much. The damage is done by the female planting the eggs in the tree, by cutting a small slit into the end of the branch where she deposits her eggs," Crutchfield explained. "The tips of the branches will break, and that's called 'flagging.'"

The good news, according to Crutchfield, is that if it's a large tree, it won't damage the tree. It will look bad, but the tree will survive.

Now for the bad news.

"In small trees, under 8 feet, the damage can be severe, and it can even kill the tree," Crutchfield said. The females are looking for pencil-sized branches, and those are obviously the predominant branch size in the smaller trees.

So now what? Can I rescue my trees?

"The only recourse at this point is to try to cover them now, and hopefully they haven't gotten to all of the branches," Crutchfield said. Another choice, albeit not very effective either, is to spray the small tree with Seven once a week. Crutchfield said this will kill some, but not many, because they won't ingest much of the pesticide. They are laying eggs, after all, not eating the leaves.

Because neither of these options is good for us, Crutchfield said my only plan now is to prune out the damage once the infestation is over. He said we don't have to worry about herbaceous plants or shrubs, only the small, woody trees.

And in 17 years, I'll give you a tip. Buy stock in the company that makes protective covering for trees against cicada infestation. I'll be buying enough to cover all 8 acres. It's gonna take a lot. 

The girls and the cicadas

My silly dogs are eating the cicadas. I think it's their valiant effort to try to save my trees. But I called our wonderful vet to ask if this is something I should worry about. She hadn't heard of any type of toxins in the insects, but she said too much of anything that's not a part of their regular diet isn't good for them.

Winchester, my son's German shorthaired pointer, loves to chase moths, butterflies and birds, and the cicadas are just slow enough for her to catch. We're keeping her inside more in the next few weeks until the tasty flying treats are gone.

Rain barrel workshop

The city of Hurricane and the state Department of Environmental Protection are sponsoring "Make Your Own Rain Barrel" at 6 p.m. July 8. The workshop will be held at the Hurricane Street Department, 3377 Teays Valley Road, near the Recycling Center along W.Va. 34.

Rain barrels collect and store rainwater from a home's rooftop, which can then be used for lawn and garden watering. Water collected in a rain barrel would normally flow through the home's downspout, onto a paved surface and eventually into a storm drain. Using rain barrels reduces water and sewage bills and reduces storm water runoff.

Registration is $25 per person, and the fee includes one 55-gallon, food-grade barrel, a parts kit and step-by-step, hands-on assembly instruction. Registration fee is nonrefundable. For information, call 562-5896.

Sara Busse is a Charleston resident and master gardener. She may be contacted at sjbu...@gmail.com.