Watch VideoGrasshopper infestation in Bent County
Story By: Rachel Hoffenberg
Source: KOAA
Published Tue Jun 17, 2008, 05:44 PM MDT
Updated Wed Jun 18, 2008, 09:17 AM MDT
Some residents in Bent County say they are dealing with a major infestation of grasshoppers. Ranchers say the bugs are eating all the green grass, which they need to feed their cattle. This is one of your stories.
If you walk through the grasslands in Bent County, you'll notice something popping up from the ground. They’re grasshoppers. Paul May has lived on a 5 acre property south of Las Animas for eight years. He says he’s never seen so many grasshoppers. They’re everywhere you walk on his property.
The grasshoppers range from a half of an inch to two inches long. And there are millions of them. May says, "This is the worst I've ever seen it. There's been grasshoppers out here before. But nothing like this. And we're on the third hatching now."
The grasshoppers range from a half of an inch to two inches long. And there are millions of them. May says, "This is the worst I've ever seen it. There's been grasshoppers out here before. But nothing like this. And we're on the third hatching now."
According to May, the grasshoppers are devouring plants, grasses, and trees. "If it's green it's gone. They're really that bad."
Jim Schleining works for the bent county farm service agency. He says, "When we have the drier weather, the grasshoppers tend to get a little worse." For ranchers, the real problem is that grasshoppers food is also feed for cattle. Schleining says, "On a dry year while there's very limited feed for the cattle anyway. And most of the ranchers are still feeding. So it becomes a big problem. And we are very dry here."
So the grasshoppers are more than a nuisance, but a financial burden. May says, "It's going to be really hard to feed all of these animals out here. People are going to have to be buying hay. And it's going to become scarce pretty quick. With the price of fuel the way that it is. That's going to be even more of a burden."
Ranchers say there are insecticides that kill grasshoppers. They can cost upwards of $20 per acre and you may have to do multiple treatments.
