Feds enlist beetles to control salt cedar

MyWestTexas.com ^ | The Associated Press | Staff Report

[farmfriend]

Feds enlist beetles to control salt cedar

Staff Report
The Associated Press 03/12/2004

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation wants to use a leaf-eating beetle from Greece as an alternative to chemical control of salt cedar.

The bureau's plan calls for the beetle to be released on Bureau of Reclamation land in the Carlsbad area. Researchers hope the beetle will help control the spread of salt cedar -- an evasive nonnative plant that soaks up as much as 200 gallons of water a day.

Officials say killing off salt cedar would allow more water to stay in the river, which could help local - in southeast New mexico and West Texas - farmers irrigate their crops.

The agency's lead researchers say the plan calls for the beetles to be released into field cages in mid-April. They would be released into nearby salt cedar groves about a month later.

New Mexico State University researchers near Artesia have already been working with other salt cedar-eating beetles.

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[Samwise]

Of dear. Haven't the enviro nuts learned anything from their past mistakes?

[null and void]

Nope. Not a thing.

[GeronL]

not again!

[Samwise]

Those danged lady bug beetles just drive me crazy. They're everywhere. They bite and they hurt. The real lady bugs from when I was a kid were cute and sweet.

[RIGHT IN LAS VEGAS]

I only advise a foreign beetle that consumes all State Govenments with the House, Senate and every other fed-gov in Washinghton, DC.

Then the beetle dies.

Hopefully truth is working on this as we speak.

[Aracelis]

Hmmm...attempting to kill off one non-native species with another non-native species. Perhaps the Feds would care to take a lesson from the introduction of the mongoose to Hawaii.

[farmfriend]

Or cats to Australia.

[farmfriend]

Course you realize this would require government types to think. Not sure that is possible.

[SpyGuy]

Of course, this will lead to yet another eco-disaster (with the beetles taking over and destroying native vegetation and/or killing native insect species).

Furthermore, I bet that if these beetles are successful at devoring the salt-cedar plant, then the enviro-wackos will rush in and declare the salt-cedar an endangered species, thus forcing water to be re-routed from farms to try to revive the dying weed.

[E.G.C.]

BTT!!!!!

[JOE43270]

Here we go again, the government led by the EPA is going to save us.

[reformedliberal]

I'm with you there. I just spent $85 for an exterminator. After 2 1/2 weeks, I still vacuum up over 100 dead beetles/day. So far, I estimate that I have vacuumed up over 3k of them. I will have to have this done again in June and then again on the outside of the house, specifically, in the Fall.

There are no predators for these smelly things.

I found out this week that the plan to control purple loosestrife also includes beetles. I did convince an active Green that if they don't have a predator for these new beetles, it will be another invasive species, but she will likely get voted down, if there even is a vote, at the scheduled meeting where they plan on telling folks about this. As for me, I would not even get recognized to speak in that crowd.

The Asian Lady Beetles get into computers, keyboards and electrical outlets. They, like cockroaches, exacerbate asthma. All so the organic soybeans can remain organic.

I spend over an hour a day vacuuming these vermin. I am sensitive to their pheromone, which causes me to have red, burning eyes. There is no recourse.

[Bubba_Leroy]

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a bird,
How absurd! to swallow a bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a cat,
Imagine that! to swallow a cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a dog,
What a hog! to swallow a dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a goat,
Just opened her throat! to swallow a goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a cow,
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a horse,
She's dead—of course!

[Samwise]

They, like cockroaches, exacerbate asthma.

I didn't know this, but it makes sense.

[reformedliberal]

Here's what the exterminator told me:

The ones in the house are all pregnant females. They hibernate (or *go to sleep*) for the winter. They awaken as the light changes and it gets warmer. As they come out of the walls/baseboards/window frames, they are dehydrated and they are looking for water. They are foragers, always moving. They are looking to get outside so they can climb a tree and lay their eggs. As they move, they excrete. It is the excreta that causes the asthmatic reaction. The poison is just along the baseboards and windowsills. It is odorless and not harmful to my pets and I haven't experienced any reaction, nor has anyone else. But I cannot wet mop near the baseboards or window sills for 3 months, just vacuum/dry dust.

He also sprayed along the foundation, all around the house. Since it is cold on some days, the things are still trying to get inside and end up dead outside in front of the doors. He said they would continue draining out of their hiding places for 3 weeks. It will be 3 weeks next Thursday and I am finding fewer dead ones.

A year ago, the information on the Web was scant and suggested letting them go outdoors after vacuuming. Now, even the government information admits this is ridiculous and the insecticides and the applicators are all available on the web if you want to DIY.

I have a separate building that is a workshop and there, I just used an OTC clear liquid spray called Bug Stop from Walmart. It is quite cheap. I sprayed the window and door sills and it works, but more slowly.

The professional application needs to be repeated every 3 months. The OTC stuff needs to be repeated every 3 weeks.

The beetles have a 3-month life span. Hopefully, all the people getting rid of them before they lay eggs will make a dent in the populations. However, the organic bean farmers can still buy them and let them go, so those of us in the rural areas will probably be adding extermination to our expenses for some time.

Probably more information than anyone wants, but I am concerned as to the unexpected consequences of using insects for other purposes w/o having some way to get rid of them or control their numbers.

[pointsal]

Golly sakes....how long before this well-intended action will have un-intended consequences?

[1john2 3and4]

from: http://wric.ucdavis.edu/exotic/techtran/juli.htm#release

Generalist predators were seen attacking D. elongata in most of the field cages.Jumping spiders (Salticidae) and ants were the most common predators, however assassin bugs were also seen attacking adult beetles in Texas.At the Independence, CA site, some sleeve cages became infested with ants, and all the larvae were killed.Outside the sleeves, however, beetle larvae were seen dropping from the foliage when approached by ants.These larvae may have avoided predation but perhaps increased the risk of mortality from other factors. The greatest mortality factor in the field cages was not predators but leafhoppers, which acted as competitors and killed the saltcedar foliage, causing D. elongata to starve.

and this; Federal authorities have not yet given approval to use the beetles outside of cages because of concerns over how they may affect the breeding habitat of the southwestern willow flycatcher. The endangered species has been nesting in salt cedars in some areas for lack of native trees. The bird is not found along the Pecos River. from: http://www.canoe.com/CNEWSScience0003/02_ceder.html

maybe the articles are somewhat dated, i did this quickly...but the beetle's "out of the barn" already, isnt it? (also, why "import" when the leafhoppers do the job? this is crazy)

[Samwise]

Yipes! That's more information than I've ever gotten--and I researched the pests last year. Thanks for the info. I have asthma, so your comments were of special interest to me.