Carlsbad Current-Argus - While plague-like numbers of grasshoppers have been the scourge of farmers in Texas, New Mexico farmers shouldn't have to worry about the small-yet-voracious creatures crossing state lines. "We just got done doing a survey with the USDA and right now the grasshoppers are below the level where they would have an economic impact," Eddy Co. extension agent Woods Houghton said. "We keep a watch on them every year." Houghton explained grasshoppers lay thousands of eggs each year, but only 4 percent typically survive. When the percentage of viable eggs grows to around 8 percent, watch out, he said. Texas and Colorado have seen an explosion in their populations, forcing farmers there who haven't already seen their crops damaged to spend as much as $45 per an acre to spray pesticides as a defense against the grasshoppers according to Colorado's Greeley Tribune. So far this year the numbers here in New Mexico have remained below that threshold thanks to recent rains, Houghton noted that the grasshoppers tend to be a periodic pest. He also noted the area's tarantulas like to feed on the grasshoppers' eggs and that helps keep the population in check. "They might be an issue if it stays dry, and we are due since it hasn't happened in a few years. But in my opinion, they shouldn't be a problem this year," Houghton said. Read More News New Mexico
Texas grasshopper invasion nothing to worry about in New Mexico, expert says
Carlsbad Current-Argus - While plague-like numbers of grasshoppers have been the scourge of farmers in Texas, New Mexico farmers shouldn't have to worry about the small-yet-voracious creatures crossing state lines. "We just got done doing a survey with the USDA and right now the grasshoppers are below the level where they would have an economic impact," Eddy Co. extension agent Woods Houghton said. "We keep a watch on them every year." Houghton explained grasshoppers lay thousands of eggs each year, but only 4 percent typically survive. When the percentage of viable eggs grows to around 8 percent, watch out, he said. Texas and Colorado have seen an explosion in their populations, forcing farmers there who haven't already seen their crops damaged to spend as much as $45 per an acre to spray pesticides as a defense against the grasshoppers according to Colorado's Greeley Tribune. So far this year the numbers here in New Mexico have remained below that threshold thanks to recent rains, Houghton noted that the grasshoppers tend to be a periodic pest. He also noted the area's tarantulas like to feed on the grasshoppers' eggs and that helps keep the population in check. "They might be an issue if it stays dry, and we are due since it hasn't happened in a few years. But in my opinion, they shouldn't be a problem this year," Houghton said. Read More News New Mexico
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