This is the year for grasshoppers. Thousands of them. Anything that I had growing is now not growing. They are eating everything. All the remedies I have found are not good for animals and Chance has the whole backyard to run. It wouldn't be fair to confine her. I may spray the apple trees if I find a calm time. There are no apples this year and I'd hate to lose them as they are getting well established. dooley
Dooley I have the same problem and I even had and exterminator spray all around my house and I never saw but a very few dead grasshoppers. There was 8 grasshoppers on my dwarf canna bloom yesterday .They have eat everything in site.You walk in the grass and grasshopper fly everywhere.
Here are some information and facts that I obtained from varuois web sources: Grasshoppers are difficult to control, even with chemicals. They are well adapted with insecticide resistance enhanced. Preventive management over the long term is possible to reduce the impact of grasshoppers. However, this requires the effort of the whole community. Tillage in late summer discourages females from laying eggs in the ground, destroys eggs by exposing them to predators. Spring tillage eliminates food sources for the newly hatched nymphs. Plant trap plants with high dose of insecticide. Grasshpoeers like kochia which can concentrate their populations where they can be destroyed. Grasshoppers dislike cilantro, and some organic growers suggest planting a wide barrier of the crop for protection. Grasshoppers are drawn to monocultures and dislike nitrogen-fixing crops like peas and sweet clover. Crop rotation and other organic practices that increase bio-diversity offer a certain degree of protection against grasshoppers. Take actions attract the numbers of birds and other predators. Use biological control for grasshoppers such as Nosema Locustae, a naturally occurring protozoan that causes disease in crickets and grasshoppers, making them lethargic and slow, easy prey for birds. Nosema locustae is not toxic to birds, animals, or other insects. The fungus Beauveria bassiana is yet another biopesticide registered for grasshopper control. Use physical barriers, traps, row covers and protective screens during a particularly bad infestation.
I found most of this stuff on the internet, too. The grasshoppers ate the clover and the marigolds and the tomatoes which they are not supposed to like. I still have the geraniums and daisies and the cantaloupe. I didn't plant squash this year or they would probably have eaten that too. dooley
