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  Discussion on Where are the blister beetles
Author Message
Member:
Dalley

Posted on Sunday, Jun 20, 2004 - 6:19 am:

18 wheelers come from out of state and pass through town on a somewhat regular basis here in Central Texas. I purchased hay from them in October of 2003. My horse became extremely ill and two local Vets offices didn't know what it was or what to do. I lost my boy on October 14th. It was absolutely horrible to watch. I was determined to figure out WHAT killed my boy. I eventually found these dead beetles and read all about them on THIS site. I am very bitter about what happened and have issues with the local vets here. These rolling trucker Alfalfa hay dealers don't care what happens to our animals and I can't get my voice heard around here. It's sad to think that other horseowners are probably losing their horses still today from this DEADLY hay... because they ARE as ignorant as I WAS.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jun 21, 2004 - 8:01 am:

Hello M'Lissa,
Blister beetles are a growing problem in alfalfa and difficult to locate in the hay and your only real defense is careful watch of the hay. It is thought that the problem is less in hay that was not crimped when cut but I would not depend on this 100%.
DrO
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Monday, Jun 21, 2004 - 4:25 pm:

Greetings,
We even had blister beetles down here in Florida from a hay truck from Oklahoma. I got so spooked (some show horses here died) that I now feed only timothy and/ or grass hays- NO LEGUMES at all which means no alfalfa. Since my horses don't event or anything like that, they do just fine on timothy and actually love the hay I get. All horses if fed correctly can do without alfalfa, in my opinion. I even pick through the timothy I give them looking for mold or whatever. I'm not sure what the vets could do for exposure to blister beetles but IV support and maybe charcoal. Best to avoid them and I avoid alfalfa altogether! People think I've taken this too far but I don't care- the beetles like alfalfa so it is there that you will find them. -Beth Gordon
Member:
cmatexas

Posted on Friday, Feb 23, 2007 - 3:15 pm:

Help!! We live in north central texas, where the DrOught and hay shortage is extreme. Our pastures are starting to green, but it will still be a while before they can totally support the horses. We have 16 square bales left, and 10 horses. You do the math!! There is no coastal to be found anywhere in the state. Anyway, my husband bought a large bale of alfalfa at a local feed store. They get them from "up north" (everything is north of us, thank you very much). Many people are feeding it to their horses exclusively, but no feed store here will call it "horse quality" for liability reasons. One of our friends said his horses had mild colic twice last week, and he assumed it was from the alfalfa. There were no other symptoms that I know of, and he treated with banamine. He seems very non-chalant about it. He feeds the same alfalfa we have every day. We need something to get us through the next 3 weeks or so. Any way I can make sure this stuff is safe? It's not crimped; could I see the beetles if I looked?
-Michelle
Member:
corinne

Posted on Friday, Feb 23, 2007 - 3:54 pm:

Michelle...we aren't doing much better in Oklahoma but you can google the Oklahoma Hay directory, it's updated often and while expensive last time I looked there was native grass hay square and rounds. There is lots of alfalfa here as well but I was told when we moved here that one beetle is enough to kill so no one I know will feed it. Perhaps you will have luck getting a clean bale. Since one is poisenous (so I hear) I am not sure how you would look for them either...that's almost like looking for a Beetle in a hay stack. LOL. Sorry I couldn't help myself...either way that might be hard.
You might check our directory...perhaps you will get lucky and can get some with a few hour drive "up north".
Will say prayers you get enough to get by.
Member:
jgordo03

Posted on Friday, Feb 23, 2007 - 4:19 pm:

I feed Lespedeza instead of Alfalfa for this very reason. They are both legumes and there is really very little difference in the nutritional value between the two. It doesn’t attract the blister beetles and hence not nearly as much pesticides or fear in feeding. Lespedeza isn’t widely grown hay, but if horse people were to start requesting it the growers may start planting more. It is an annual in Missouri so we do have to replant it every year; I’m not sure about the southern part of the country.
Member:
cmatexas

Posted on Saturday, Mar 17, 2007 - 9:39 pm:

Almost a disaster! We've already fed about 1/2 of our very large alfalfa bale, and horses are loving it. They look great. Tonight, I pulled off a fresh flake - looked down - AND THERE WAS A WHOLE BLACK BEETLE DEAD RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Came home and looked it up - male black blister beetle. This bale came out of Nebraska. We are in Central East Texas. The people selling this alfalfa are selling up and down the interstate here in Texas and up in Oklahoma. If you are in this area, please be careful. Our grass is coming up, so we will be okay. Going to burn the bale tomorrow.
Member:
jgordo03

Posted on Sunday, Mar 18, 2007 - 4:46 pm:

Everyone, Please Please Please if your alfalfa comes from anywhere in the Midwest ask if it is guaranteed to be blister beetle free...Alfalfa has to be heavily sprayed with pesticide to keep the blister beetles out. Most Midwestern farmers who grow alfalfa grow it for cattle that do not react to it like horses do, most may not even know what their hay will be used for if they sell it to a hay broker who re-sells it to you.
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