Weevils in the corn

[ThoughtfulFox]

Hello again. The ever-frustrated fox has returned with yet another problem.
This time it's maize weevils.
Of course I know little-to-nothing about weevils so hopefully some of you have dealt with this situation before.
Last month my bosses heard that corn was doing horribly all over the US and prices were going to skyrocket. Their first response to this information was to buy all the corn within fifty miles of here. It probably would have been a good idea, except that many of the bags that they brought in had a few weevils on (and probably in) them.
Fast forward to tonight when I dipped out a can of corn for the sheep, and notice a few weevils crawling around atop the mix. I give the can some vigorous shaking much like you would a bag of popcorn, pour the kernals off the top, lather-rinse-repeat until I have only a little corn left in the bottom of the can, and dump it out on a metal chair. Lo and behold there are ~50 weevils crawling for their lives in the powdery trailings. I painstakingly squish them all, and pour the remaining corn back into the holding can, and repeat the process again, with similar results. There must be thousands of weevils in the bottom of this corn.

I assume that our chickens aren't going to mind some extra protein in their cracked corn,
but I need to know if weevils in the sheep's whole corn might be harmful to them.
Is there any way to eradicate the pests? (I'm not expecting any easy answers.)

Thank you for your time.

 

[Rvrfshr]

Since you have already made the investment in infested corn you will have to take additional steps to kill the weevils. Some recommend diatomaceous earth, some say pesticides (malathion). I would not use either of these methods.

If you can find a commercial freezer (a big one like a slaughter house would use) take all of your corn there and leave it for a couple of weeks. This will kill the weevils.

While your corn is away from your feed area and feed storage area you will have to treat it with either a pesticide or d.e. to stop the reinfestation. Weevils will eat almost any organic material including cotton, some legumes (alfalfa, beans etc.)

How much corn are did you buy? Is all of it infested?

Weevils will eat the nutritious parts of the corn and decrease the nutrients that you feed to your livestock.

From what I have read, dead weevils will not harm livestock. A call to your local agricultural agent should give you more information on this problem that you are having.

 

[ThoughtfulFox]

Thank you ever so much for the quick reply.
We have a (literal) ton of corn.
I have no way of knowing how much is infested without opening all of the bags, but 1/4 of the bags are made of a more plasticized material and well-sealed. I have hope for those.
The other 3/4 are made from older-style loose mesh. (these were the ones that had weevils on the bags when we brought them in) They're almost certainly crawling with critters.
The real kick in the head is that we have two industrial freezers, here.....but they're full to the brim with this year's sheep milk.
I'll see if we can call in a few favors.

It's too bad they can't be killed with heat. We have that in abundance, this year.

If we are able to find a place that will let us freeze the corn, we'll need to take steps to keep the weevils from infesting their property as well.
I'm thinking that if we were to wrap each of the bags in plastic (heavy garbage bags) and twist-seal and knot the opening that might keep the little buggers trapped inside. Does anyone have other recommendations?

How will diatomaceous earth help to prevent re-infestation?

 

[bonbean01]

http://dairygoatinfo.com/index.php?topic=16148.0

This forum on the topic of weevils is about dairy goats, but I'm sure it applies to dairy sheep as well...lots of information here.

Do you know if your corn is from this year? Takes some time for weevils to get to the stage yours are at...could it be last year's corn?

Guess you'll have to copy and paste the URL into your browser to open it since the web address is not showing up as a link.

Good luck with your corn and I hope it is not a complete loss for feeding your sheep.

 

[Rvrfshr]

How will diatomaceous earth help to prevent re-infestation?

D.e. is a fine powder that suffocates insects. I use a hand cranked powder mill that distributes a fine coat of powder (Sevin dust or d.e.) on my garden to kill and control pests.

The following link is for the powder mill that I use and have been using for 4+ years.
http://www.amazon.com/Plantmates-76...F8&qid=1344273237&sr=8-2&keywords=powder+mill

I wouldn't do half measures in treating your weevils, use a lot of powder and use it where your corn/feed have been stored. Be thorough. Cover the ground in and around your feed area. Avoid using poisons that might hurt your livestock, and make sure that you are using the right d.e. that won't hurt your animals. I don't care for d.e. because it is microscopic particles of coral, but for your application and extraordinary circumstance, I believe it will do the job.

Trying to sort out which corn is infested and which isn't might be an excercize in futility. Freeze all of your feed/corn.

Weevils (eggs) are always present on most grains, but the adults as you know are what destroys your feed and reduces the nutritional value of it.

Hope this helps with your predicament. Have fun