By PR Extension Office
Producers in Powder River County and adjacent areas concerned about potential damage from grasshoppers next summer are encouraged to contact the Powder River Extension Office at 436-2424 by December 10th.
“The number of acres and producers interested in an APHIS grasshopper suppression program next summer will be conveyed to Gary Adams, director of the grasshopper suppression program for Montana,” said Mary Rumph, MSU Powder River Extension Agent.
“At this point, the number of acres and the number of producers interested are all that is needed for the purpose of determining the size and scope of the potential problem throughout the state,” explained Rumph. “There is a long process between asking for assistance and having funding authorized by the federal government and state agencies to organize a grasshopper suppression program. This is just the first step.”
Please contact the Powder River Extension Office at 436-2424 if interested in participating in the program. Key points for the 2021 program include:
• Treatment areas with a minimum of 10,000 acres of rangeland are necessary;
• Dimilin is the product used at 1 oz./Acre. It is a growth regulator that is effective on insects with an exo-skeleton; it is not harmful to bees or birds;
• RAATs (Reduced Agent Area Treatment) is utilized, an aerial swath treatment;
• Treatment with Dimilin must be done at the third instar (which normally occurs in mid to late June);
• Estimated cost to landowners is $3.00 per acre and dependent on the size of the treatment area (bigger is less expensive);
• Treatment needs to be requested prior to January 1st, so landowners need to start organizing with neighbors and maps now and complete contracts;
• No treatment will occur if the population doesn’t exceed the threshold for control based on early June surveys.
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