Cypress County Agricultural Services

Pest & Disease Control

There are many pests that can affect agricultural production.  These include rodents (ground squirrels, rats), diseases (Dutch Elm Disease, Fusarium, BSE), insects (grasshoppers), and vertebrates (skunks, coyotes).  Various activities of the ASB help residents and producers deal with these problem pests and nuisances.

West Nile Virus

West Nile virus is one of a variety of mosquito-borne viruses that can cause infection in humans and some species of animals, especially horses.  The County did a mosquito monitoring & control program in 2004, 2005 and 2006.  This was a result of Alberta Health's West Nile Virus prevention program to monitor and control the mosquito Culex tarsalis.  The City of Medicine Hat  coordinated the program.  This included mapping potential mosquito hatching sites within 5 km of the hamlets of Hilda, Schuler, Walsh, Irvine, Seven Persons, Veinerville, Dunmore and Desert Blume.  The hamlet of Suffield was included with the CFB Suffield control program.  Monitoring all these areas continued throughout the summer (until late August) and application of larvicide to the standing water is done when required, to reduce mosquito populations.  No broadcast or aerial spraying of insecticide will ever be done.  No monitoring or control will be done in 2007 as the risk is low and Provincial funding is no longer available.  For more information, and ways to protect yourself, check out the Alberta Health & Wellness site

 "Fight the Bite - West Nile Virus"

Richardson's Ground Squirrels

Since 2001, the County has provided local farmers and ranchers with a fresh strychnine formulation of bait to control their gopher infestations.  These restricted products are sold on a preorder basis, from March until early June.  Orders for spring 2006 sales have now ended.  The PMRA review and comment period for strychnine is over but a final report may not be released until 2007.  The County also sells the new pest control product EXIT, and has an application unit  available for  producers to rent to asphyxiate gophers. 

Annual Rat Inspections & Control

The Norway rat is a declared pest in Alberta.  In the early '50's, the province instituted an 18 mile (29 km) wide buffer zone the entire length of the province, adjacent to Saskatchewan.  This has effectively prevented rats from establishing in Alberta.  Rats have not been found in Cypress County for over 20 years.  Therefore, the inspection zone is now 12 miles wide (19 km) and all yard sites or buildings are inspected once each year by the County Pest Control Officer.

Dutch Elm Disease

Dutch Elm Disease (DED) is a deadly disease that can affect elm trees.  Some newer varieties have been bred with DED resistance.  Alberta is currently free of this disease, but it is close by in both Montana and Saskatchewan.  DED is caused by a fungus that clogs the elm tree's water conducting system, causing its leaves to wilt and the tree to die, usually within one or two seasons.  The fungus is spread by elm bark beetles, which breed and lay eggs under the bark of dead or dying elm wood.   When a new generation of beetles emerge from the diseased tree, they carry fungal spores with them when they travel and feed on healthy elm trees.  

Fusarium Prevention & Control

Caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, fusarium head blight (FHB), is the most destructive fungal disease of barley and wheat in Canada.   The prevalence and severity of fusarium head blight in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan has caused major economic losses to producers and the grain export industry. Fusarium graminearum infection greatly decreases yield, seed quality and produces mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol and zearalenone).   Action needs to be taken now to recognize its symptoms, prevent its importation and control it when found.  One very important action for farmers to take is to test their seed.  Lab testing is the only way to know for sure whether seed is infected with Fusarium.  Seed samples can be dropped off at the 11-22 Co-op Seed Cleaning Plant.  They will courier them to 20/20 Seed Labs in Nisku, who now have a DNA based fusarium test for wheat and corn.  This test only takes 2 days, while the traditional culture plate method takes at least 4 days.  Most local elevators will also send samples in for their customers.

Grasshopper Control

Grasshoppers are a declared pest in Alberta, because they can cause significant damage to agricultural crops if their populations get high enough.  Due to a natural population cycle, a couple of dry summers and a mild winter, there was a  moderate to severe grasshopper infestation forecast for 2002.  As a result, Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development announced a Grasshopper Control Program.  Since the 2003 grasshopper forecast indicated a severe infestation, the Provincial and Federal governments announced a 2003 Grasshopper Control Assistance Program.  The 2004 grasshopper forecast map showed another year of heavy infestations.  However,  as a result of cool, wet weather in June, the infestation never occurred, except in isolated locations.  Details about the 2004 grasshopper situation can be found at Dan Johnson's University of Lethbridge site.   The 2005 grasshopper forecast shows a decline in the population, as does the 2006 grasshopper forecast and the 2007 grasshopper forecast.    Permission is granted to any landholder in Cypress County to spray road allowances adjacent to fields they will be spraying, for control of grasshoppers.  The County does not spray any road allowances or roadsides for control of grasshoppers.