SASKATOON – For the rusty grain beetle, it’s pay back time.
After two years of heavy infestations shutting hundreds of prairie elevators, an unpredictable force has stepped in to scourge the pests.
“The beautiful thing about our climate that few people appreciate is that it really gets cold in the winter and kills a lot of insects,” said Canadian Grain Commission spokesperson Paul Graham.
The commission is reporting a drastic reduction of beetle infestations. By the end of this October there were 105 grain cars infected with rusties; last year there were 275.
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By the end of November last year, 416 rail cars were infected.
But this year there was only another 23 cars in November, bringing the total to 128.
Graham said the numbers show it is an average year and the plague of the past two years is probably over.
Warm winter ideal
The ruined 1992 crop created a great oversupply of feed wheat, sometimes stored in piles in farm yards. This created ideal conditions for rusty grain beetle development, nurtured by warm winters in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
But Graham said recent frigid temperatures create perfect conditions to rain body blows on the bugs’ potential.
Rusty grain beetles are tough. They can survive sub-zero temperatures for weeks, especially if the temperature drops slowly and they have time to adapt.
But with a sudden cold snap like present, producers can wipe out the beetles.
“This is a good time for farmers to aerate their grain,” said Graham.
Bins with fans can suck the cold in from outside. Producers who don’t have fans can auger their grain in and out of the bin to cool it off.
Farmers should be careful, though, pest specialists say. Grain stores heat well, and producers should not assume because the bin and the surface of the grain is cold that the centre of the bin is as well.
The beetles can thrive in “hot spots” inside the grain pile, waiting for the temperature to rise. By breaking up the grain and lowering the temperature throughout, a refuge is denied.
