By Blaine Bug Crew
After a year and a half of quarantine, we’re excited to announce that the Bug Crew is back in full strength. The mission of the Blaine County Bug Crew is to use bugs to fight noxious weeds. While sprays have their place in trying to control noxious weeds, they are neither sustainable nor environmentally friendly. Our goal is to introduce our bugs to their target-specific host and let them do the hard work of controlling Blaine County’s noxious weeds. The beauty of using these insect predators is that they are both good for the environment and only eat their target weed. The icing on the cake is that they are self-propagating and completely sustain themselves from year to year.
This year’s crew consists of both veterans and rookies. Melody McHan returns for her fifth year on the crew and is joined by Kaitlyn Denning, Kaylynn Stowell, Athea Hollibaugh, and Christopher Romero. Kaitlyn has a jam-packed summer planned since she will be bouncing between lifeguarding and bug crew. Kaylynn (who goes by Kay) joined for the experience and the knowledge that will be learned. Athea is excited to work on the bug crew because she loves to be outdoors and wants to ensure that Idaho stays green. Melody has been on the Bug Crew for a long time and has begun to see the effectiveness of the bugs on these noxious invaders. Christopher is excited about this opportunity, for this is his first summer job.
The Blaine Bug Crew works closely with the Blaine County Weed Department and the Blaine County Weed Superintendent, John Cenarussa. The Bug Crew has become another tool for county weed managers to control noxious plants. Unlike other forms of weed control, biological control is more of a marathon than a sprint. It takes several years for the insects to get established, and we prefer our landowners not to spray, graze, mow, cultivate, or engage in any other significant disturbances. If you feel that your property might be a candidate for biological control, please call Kay Draper at (208) 727-7221.
