I'd never seen that insect before, but this happened so fast it just blew me away. At least one-third of Valencia County's 12,000 acres of alfalfa has been attacked by the aphids. You walk through an infested field, it's like walking through sticky, black goo. Besides eating the alfalfa, the aphids transmit about 30 different viral diseases that damage alfalfa, English said. Eddy County agricultural agent Woods Houghton sees hope on the horizon.
Ladybugs eat aphids.
About half of the Eddy County farmers whose alfalfa was infested sprayed, and the other half cut early, Houghton said. Direct sunlight in the fields will kill aphids. English said it's impossible to discern the long-range effects or total numbers of the aphid infestation since it is a new phenomenon in New Mexico and not all counties were prepared to measure the aphids in the fields. And it's real hard to get alfalfa started. Farmers need to get down on their hands and knees and scout for those critters.