It seemed like this year we might not have a bad crop of grasshoppers. Everyone had always told us that if we had a wet spring, there was some kind of fungus that would kill off the grasshoppers. We had probably the wettest spring we’ll ever have and all it did was delay their invasion.
Grasshopper
They’re huge but they’ve cut down on the amount of chicken feed we’re having to use. But, they’ve eaten holes in the screens on the greenhouse! Hopefully you can see, in relation to my fingers, how huge these things are.
They’ve also eaten all the fall plants in the garden that sprouted.
I wish there was someway to get rid of these pests.
Quilterbee says
I googled how to keep grasshoppers out of your garden and there was a lot of different ways that did not use chemicals that sounded interesting , easy, and not expensive.
JudyL says
Trust me . . I have tried everything imaginable but when they’re so bad they’re eating the window screens, there’s not a lot of hope. Our county agents in this area are advising people to hold off planting anything til after we’ve had a frost and I think those guys pretty much know every trick in the book.
A lot of what you read on google may work on small scale grasshopper infestation but we have an unbelievable number here. They’re eating the bark off trees, pecans still on the trees . . it’s not your average grasshopper infestation.
Pam in KC says
The year the grasshoppers ate the screens out at mom’s, the extension service said the only sure way of getting rid of the grasshoppers was smashing them w/ a 2 x 4. I think they were halfway joking.
JudyL says
Catching them and feeding them to the chickens works well too but me and the chickens could chase grasshoppers all day and we wouldn’t make a dent in them.
Sherrill says
I HATE grasshoppers!! That ONE grasshopper looks like it would be enough for one chicken’s dinner it’s so HUGE.
JudyL says
They are so huge! Some of them are about 5″ long.
Joyce says
I wonder why they eat screens. I can’t imagine they taste good…yuck!
Dotti says
Now, they would surely give me reason to relocate!,
Makes me shiver just thinking of them.
Dotti
Judy H says
My first thought was, “Why are they trying to grow grasshoppers?” I misunderstood your first line! LOL
JudyL says
The truth is . . if we were trying to grow them, we probably couldn’t.
Theresa says
I remember reading about grasshoppers destroying the crops in Little House on the Prairie; you’re lucky if you can keep them out of your house. Considering that folks like the Ingalls lost nearly everything to grasshoppers, replanting is a bummer, but it could be worse.
Jo Anna says
YIKES!!! You have my sympathy! Jo Anna
Diane in CA says
I was watching a show that was digging a pool in TX and the guy would not let the backhoe start until he relocated the grasshoppers.. All I could think of was come back in the fall and see how those cute grasshoppers just ate everything you planted around that pool… I vote for crop dusting.. your crops wont be organic but YOU will get to eat it instead of the grasshoppers.
Anne Simonot says
There’s no way I’d be holding one! We only have smaller ones here & they freak me out. I can’t imagine living where they’re five inches long! Eeek!!
Theresa says
There is a fungus, Nomesa Locustae, sold as NOLO bait, that can reduce the numbers of grasshoppers if you spread it per the directions. It’s similar to the bacteria I used to spread to kill Japanese beetle grubs (and control the number of beetles dive bombing me in my garden.) It’s only about $20, so worth a try for next year.
JudyL says
We’ve used that the last two years but it has not helped with the grasshoppers at all.
wanda jordan says
Well they make excellent fishing bait. My grandparents used them all the time.But not much fishing around you I don’t think. I’m sorry they eat everything one of God’s curses on earth I guess. Remember Egypt one of the plagues for them.
Maybe Vince can invent something to get rid of them. He is one smart man and helpful too. Keep him around for a good long while because they don’t make men like him anymore.
Ranch Wife says
Oh, that would just make me madder than an old wet hen! All that work! I was sure hoping you wouldn’t have them this year. Just incredibly frustrating. I didn’t plant a garden this year since we knew we’d be gone on our trip and I miss it.
Rebecca in SoCal says
Sounds like you have to plant everything twice this year. How discouraging.
Since you haven’t been writing about these darn things, I hoped that the wet spring had done a little population control. It sounds like they just hid out, reproducing.
The reference to “Little House” reminds me that I thought there were occasional plagues of locusts. I never realized how bad they are every single year!!