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Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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Posted by irisgirl Z5 - CO (My Page) on Wed, Jul 1, 09 at 20:38
| I am suddenly faced with an influx of grasshoppers. What to do? Never been a problem in the past. Would rather use organic means but will bring out the bad guns if I have to, and would rather get them while still small than let them grow for a month!
Any/all suggestions welcome and thank you in advance! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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| Row covers. They might be bad this year if this keeps up. Dan |
RE: Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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Thanks, Dan; I will order some tonite.
~CW |
RE: Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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If you have to go to the spray, do it soon. Bigger ones are really hard to kill. From my notes from last year.
Kennyp |
RE: Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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| Farmers and gardeners around here have been fighting a big hopper outbreak for a few years now, they're using something called "Nolo Bait" which is some sort of grass hopper disease thingie. It's expensive. It needs everyone in an area to use it for it to be most effective. It kills some, and then the dead ones are cannibalized, so it spreads that way. From the results around here, it seems that you start getting decent control the next summer. There is a group/coop of farmers the valley over who put out pallets of the stuff 2 years ago, and are now in pretty good shape. I really don't like grass hoppers. I'm not seeing as many around this year as in years past, maybe it's just too moist. I sure saw a lot earlier, and there were gobs of little ones around during the April heat wave. |
Here is a link that might be useful: bad news if you're a grass hopper
RE: Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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| I used Semaspore bait for the past two years. It's approved for organic use, but has to be applied when they are 1/4" to 1/2" in size. It definitely decreased the population in my yard, which basically just postponed the inevitable. The problem is all of the empty lots around us. The owner of some of these lots had them mowed a couple of days ago, which turned my yard into an oasis in the desert. Like you, I don't really want to use chemicals, especially on anything we are going to eat. So for now I'm using the whack 'em with flipflop method, but there are so many that I'm not putting much of a dent in the population that way. Dan's idea of row covers is fine for a veggie garden in the backyard, if nothing needs pollination, but they wouldn't be too attractive in my frontyard. Bonnie |
RE: Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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| Hi everyone! Greetings from northern Wyoming. Grasshoppers were miserable here last year. I'm seeing quite a few this year too. I'm just bought a bird bath. I'm keeping it filled with fresh water. I'm hoping to attract birds that love grasshoppers. Will need to get a bird feeder to atrract them I think. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Just found this... Birds the Eat Grasshoppers
RE: Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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Irisgirl [aka Mom! :) ]
(Saying this jokingly)... Do what Grandpa used to do - collect the little buggers in a wood framed cube, with sides made of small holed chicken wire or screen material, and go fishing - that'll learn 'em, and you'll have enough trout for your table for a while! On a more serious note - have you thought about grounding up herbs that act as insecticide - supposedly good results, and don't necessarily deter the beneficials - I have plenty for the taking of lemon balm, cat mint, and good ole artemesia (wormwood) if you'd like to come visit we can make a magic potion that'll set our gardens straight again... at least as far as the insects go. But I imagine if these ridiculous rains continue, we'll be fighting bigger and more robust bugs all season ! Just tell me that the insect on the following link is NOT dangerous to my crops and I'll be happy - if it is, we can swap insect problems ;) |
Here is a link that might be useful: Trade you Insect Concerns! Check this out!
RE: Need Help vs Grasshoppers
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| Many thanks to all of you, we will be adopting your suggestions in many ways. The bait-stuff that turns the hoppers into cannibals is kind of freaky, but oh well; that's the price you pay for Home Grown Veggies (isn't it??) Again, thank you all! |
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