Grasshoppers can be a real menace to the garden. As herbivores, they eat green leaves like grasses and weeds, but also your treasured garden plants. You may know the biblical tale of a plague of locusts (certain species of short-horned grasshoppers) to give you an idea as to the type of damage that can occur when the start to swarm.
Grasshoppers emerge in the spring as young nymphs and start eating green leaves immediately. They don’t travel very far at this stage, and after they reach maturity, turn into their adult version with full wings.
There are a number of ways to control grasshoppers The first is with a physical barrier of a floating row covers over your plants. Just make sure to remove this for pollinating plants otherwise your precious tomatoes or beans may not develop properly.
Early detection and prevention is another management strategy. Beneficial insects like crickets, blister beetles, and wasps can also control larva and eggs. Chickens love to eat grasshoppers as well.
Grasshoppers like to lay their eggs in undisturbed soil, so a shallow tilling of 1″ in the fall or spring can reduce the adult population by exposing them to the elements or other predators. A warm fall often correlates with increased pests the following year as the grasshoppers have more time to mate and lay their eggs in the soil before the winter kills off the adults.
Finally, there are a number of natural home remedies that can be very effective at grasshopper control. The first is using neem oil as many grasshoppers hate the taste of leaves with some of the oil residue. A diluted molasses spray has been reported to clog the pores of grasshoppers, and a mixture of garlic and/or chili peppers and water can keep them out of the garden as well.
Cover Image by Aleksey Gnilenkov, used under its Creative Commons license.
[Got a Tip?] If you have a tip to share with your fellow urban farmers, let us know at tips@youngurbanfarmers.com. Want More Tips? Browse our Tips Archive for more.
