# Black bug in alfalfa hay



## Torreschan (Apr 22, 2013)

Help, I've just found black bugs in my alfalfa hay. Is it still safe for consumption? I've tried my best to change all the hay that looks ok into a seperate bag.


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## Azerane (Apr 22, 2013)

Chances are you may still have eggs in the "clean" hay. Depends how many bugs there are, but I would be inclined to get new hay. I find the occasional cockroach (maybe 1 every few big bags of hay) but whether that comes with the hay or crawls in after I get it (I keep it out in the shed) I don't know. Still, 1 cockroach versus hay full of bugs, I prefer to get new hay.


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## Imbrium (Apr 22, 2013)

ew, ew, EWWWWWW!!! ROACH??? oh, god! I'm SO glad that hasn't ever happened with my hay! (*knocks on wood*)

pics of the bugs in question would definitely assist in giving a more definitive answer, since there's an awful lot of bugs that fit the description of "black"... but honestly, I recommend sticking with the "when in doubt, throw it out" rule. buying a new bale of hay is a hell of a lot cheaper than paying a vet bill if something bad happens because of the bugs.

welcome to RO, by the way! your bunny is absolutely adorable


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## Azerane (Apr 22, 2013)

Imbrium said:


> ew, ew, EWWWWWW!!! ROACH??? oh, god! I'm SO glad that hasn't ever happened with my hay! (*knocks on wood*)


 
I scream every time, lol! Always catches me by surprise. Hate roaches.

Now that I think about it, the bale of hay that I bought is still sitting in the boot of my car, hope to God there's no roaches in that xD


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## Imbrium (Apr 22, 2013)

god, me too, with the fire of a thousand suns. they're the one thing in the entire world that I'm truly terrified of... and if you think cockroaches are bad, try TREE roaches - those f*ckers can get to be 3-4'' long, and if that isn't bad enough, they f-ing FLY!!!

I'm smart enough that I would NEVER do this, not even out of morbid curiosity... but according to Lisa (agnesthelion), if you google "texas tree roaches", it'll give you serious nightmares 

although honestly, I loathe the horrendous, massive, flying f*cking tree roaches marginally less than new orleans sewer roaches, simply because I encounter perhaps half a dozen tree roaches a year in my house (counting both live and dead discoveries), as opposed to sewer roaches in new orleans being more like half a dozen a month. (that may or may not be an exaggeration... I haven't lived in new orleans since I was 11, which was 18 years ago, but I remember the horrendous surprise of finding one being FAR too common-place to the point that you ALWAYS had to put bowls and cups and such in the cabinets upside-down because of the significant risk of finding a dead b*astard roach in something if you put it right-side up. to this day, I am still afraid of the back of kitchen cabinets, I am still afraid of attics/crawl spaces and I am still unwilling to sit down on a toilet without having a thorough look at all of the inner sides of the bowl... all because of my nine years spent growing up in new orleans and the intense, innate roach-related paranoia it instilled in me.)


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## whitelop (Apr 22, 2013)

What kind of black bugs are they? What I can think of is probably darkling beetles, because they're pretty common and not really an issue. 
I would probably get more hay. But I would still use the hay that HAD the bugs in it. I would just make sure to shake it out REALLY well, just because you don't want bugs in your house or where ever. I think that it should be fine. It grows outside and there are bugs outside. There are probably bugs in all of our hays we just don't notice because there aren't many of them. 

Either way, I would get a new bag or bale for right now, but I would just shake the other hay out and check it really well, but still not waste it.


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## woahlookitsme (Apr 22, 2013)

The blister beetle can be found in alfalfa hay and is poisonous to horses and other animals. If it was in fact that I would be very weary. 

Here is a read about them and some pictures. http://igrow.org/livestock/horse/blister-beetles-toxicity-a-hidden-threat-to-your-horses-health/


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## Nancy McClelland (Apr 22, 2013)

:yeahthat:


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## woahlookitsme (Apr 24, 2013)

I am really worried about this. Did you get a chance to see if the bugs were blister beetles? If they are the hay should be thrown out and you should talk to the store you got it from. The chemical released from the beetle is very toxic to animals and the feed store must be aware of what was found in their hay.


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## Torreschan (Apr 25, 2013)

Hi all, thank you for your reply! We bought the huge box of hay from a local petshop. It's black and has 2 parts. I think it's a " blister beetle" and have dumped the hay. Thank you again


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