Alfalfa weevils and Blister beetles...

[CaliannG]

Okay, so I am seriously considering spreading around some heat-tolerant alfalfa seed in my pastures. Not for cutting hay, but for forage and browse.

I have guineas and chickens that free-range, and they do a NUMBER on ticks, grasshoppers, etc. My research has found that Blister Beetles are eaten by birds and lay their eggs in grasshopper egg pods (larvae are grasshopper predators), and that they are preyed upon by birds.

More research has shown that alfalfa weevils are also a nice snack for birds. Therefore, does anyone know.....

Will my chickens and guineas be able to keep these pests under control if I should decide I want to cut and hay these fields later?

[arcticow]

Weevils, maybe... blister bugs, probly not, but army worms are more likely to do a number on the alfalfa. Root rot is a probability if that land has ever been in cotton...

[Molly Mckee]

Most types of alfalfa do not do well that far south. Even part of a blister beetle can kill a horse. I would see what A&M recommends. I don't think it would be very practical to use it for hay,unless there is some new type of alfalfa you could plant. I would never plan on making hay that could kill, to be safe from blister beetles you need a longer period of freezing weather than you get in your area.

[Bearfootfarm]

You'll be just as well off to plant dollar bills instead of Alfalfa seed
It won't compete with grasses

You'll get better results planting Clovers