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Discussion on Dung beetles for manure management | |
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 20, 2000 - 8:13 pm: It has been suggested to me that I break up manure in my fields by the use of dung beetles, a type of scarab beetle that helps get rid of dung, enriches the soil and kills dung-feeding flies. It supposedly does this by rolling small balls of manure out of the mass and burying them in the ground. It then lays its eggs nearby and the larvae feed on the manure balls while growing to become new dung beetles. Has anyone tried this method of manure control? I'm wondering how invasive they might be. Will I hear crunching underfoot when I go to catch a horse? There are lots of articles on the dung beetle on the internet, but I'd really like to hear from someone who's had practical experience with the little buggers. Sounds too good to be true.Tundra |
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 20, 2000 - 10:20 pm: Your use of the phrase "by the use of dung beetles" seems to imply importation of the beetles. I've never heard of intentional importation of the beetles. But if your pasture is grazed like most horse pastures, even importation would have little liklihood of success, as conditions would not likely be good.Dung beetles occur naturally, given a chance. In a typical horse pasture the beetles are often prohibited from proliferating because the ground is too beaten down. Horses are far, far harder on the ground than ruminants, and people tend to put horses in a pasture and forget them. The results are devastating to grasses and to insects alike. An excellent pasture rotation program involves daily migration of fences, exposing horses to new grass every day, then resting "yesterday's" grazing spot for two to eight weeks before a horse is back on it. This allows grass to grow, and insects to proliferate. The dung beetles do an especially good service not only in removing dung, but in aerating the soils. Once begun, we consider it takes three to five years for a pasture to "mature" into the full good effects of rotational grazing. In one of the best developed rotational pastures I've heard tell of, dung literally disappeared from sight within three days. It's not too good to be true. Just too hard for most folks to imagine. It sounds hard, but it's really quite easy, and requires less land per horse than traditional grazing. We teach the topic. You can find one of our sites on our profile on this board. If you take an interest, feel free to correspond. Best of luck in all you choose to do! P.S.: No, you won't hear crunching. Unless you really look, you'll likely never see one. But it is fun actually watching them roll the dung balls and drag them into their holes. |
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 21, 2000 - 12:04 am: Dear Bryan & Annette:Your pastures must be beautiful, with daily rotation. And your horses (any your dung beetles) very happy!! Yes, I agree that horses are one of the most destructive grazers, save for elephants. They compact the soil, graze the grasses selectively, leaving the less desirable grasses ungrazed and thus more prone to proliferate, and each one dumps 50 pounds of manure and several gallons of urine onto the turf daily. I, too, rotate my stock, but not daily. I have some acreage that I have sectioned off with temporary electric fencing into areas of 1-2 acres each. Gates between these fields can be left open when I want to double the size of the field. The horses live in groups of 2-5 individuals each, and each group is rotated to another section when a field has been grazed down enough to need a rest (looks uneven, grass shorter than 3") usually after 1-2 weeks, depending on the size of field and # of individuals in it. I try not to overgraze and, once I take the field out of use for a couple of weeks, I harrow it, cut it even and let it be. In the spring I lime the fields, fertilize them lightly and, when I can afford it, rent a core aerator to break up the compaction caused by the heavy hooves. This year I will probably overseed some of the fields as well. We are fortunate to have very good soil, loamy. However, my farm grew potatoes for many years, so soil tests show low calcium and the low ph typical of Long Island soils. In the winter the horses are in "winter quarters" -- smaller fields with easy access to run-ins and more solid fencing. These fields get significantly more intense use over the winter and I am always concerned that they'll go "sour" from the urine and manure that builds up over a winter season, even though we continue to harrow. On the nice days, I still turn them out in the larger fields with the temp fencing when the weather is temperate. There is a stand of switchgrass, which is a warm season grass which can be grazed when the cool season grasses that make up most of my pastures are waning. But so far I've not had to use it. There are also sheep and ducks in another area of the farm. Yes, I imagine I would have to "import" dung beetles. Do you think they could live in the situation I've described above? Could I set them to working on my large manure pile? The composting would probably go much faster. Could I gather some piles of manure in the field into a larger pile (which the horses would be less likely to trample) and set the beetles to their work there? where can dung beetles be purchased? When would be best to turn them out? Spring, I imagine. I am very interested in natural methods and would love to have the soil aeration and natural fertilization these dung angels could bring. If they could do their work in peace, that is. I will look for your web site. And thanks. |
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 21, 2000 - 12:28 am: You seem to be well ahead of the average, both in rotational activity and in understanding. I have never heard of "buying" dung beetles, though there are many insects one can purchase in quantity. I'd look forward to a post if you or anyone finds a source.I rather doubt that any piling of dung would be effective or desirable for dung beetle interraction. But now you are prying my imagination and not my knowledge or training. My intuition wants to say dung beetles would best act on dung that is ground level and interspersed with vegetation--in other words, in a normal dung pile. To find dung otherwise would defeat their natural behavior of burrowing. I doubt you could establish an appropriate set of nearby "con-dung-miniums" that they would live in. Furthermore, heat from any composting action of dung in a large pile would drive insects away. I believe the best method of dung resolution to be (1) distribute it naturally and evenly through daily rotation, (2) not to disturb it by any method, and (3) let natural decay and insect action remove it. We rotate a herd of 12 to 20 horses, and after four years have yet to realize any dung problem, except in our overnight drylot area, which benefits from occasional harrowing. Let me know when you begin to raise dungers for sale! I'd be tickled to try speeding up the expansion of my own subterranean herd! --grins |
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