DENVER — When you're outside this summer, it's hard not to notice all the grasshoppers. If that wasn't frustrating enough for farmers and gardeners, there's another creepy crawler to look out for.
"Blister beetle larva tend to feed on grasshopper eggs, which can be a benefit for grasshopper control. But blister beetles also come with their own sets of nuances," said Lisa Mason, Horticulture Specialist & Entomologist for Colorado State University Extension in Arapahoe County.
There are about 35 different species of blister beetles in Colorado.
"They have a substance called Cantharidin in which is high irritant and can highly irritate your skin if you touch them. So be mindful that if you come across blister beetles on your own plants or on crops, because they can not only irritate your skin, but in high concentration, can even cause blisters," said Mason.
In high concentrations, it can even cause livestock to get sick.
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Grasshopper invasion in Colorado: Ways to rid them from your home garden
Fortunately Mason said she did not have data to support that the state is seeing higher numbers of blister beetles.
Trela Phelps, the general manager at City Floral Garden Center in Denver, said it might not be likely to start seeing them in the metro.
"For us in the city, everything's kind of tidy. You don't have really tall grasses and things like that that attract them. So hopefully, knock on wood, we won't," Phelps said.
If you start noticing them in your garden, Phelps has some suggestions.
"Sevin in a spray that most people will use for any kind of chewing insect that's in vegetables, It's safe for vegetables, flowers, all that type of stuff," she said, "Diatomaceous earth, which is another. A lot of people consider this more of an organic type of treatment. It is a dust and so it does need to be reapplied every time you water, or if it rains."
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