Grasshoppers
They eat almost any plants and they eat fast! Adults can fly so it’s better to control when they’re still small.
Life cycle
They usually live for a year and die in winter. But the eggs survive.
Damage
They eat basically any plants.
Control
Prevention
Life cycle
Warm spring will allow grasshoppers to hatch earlier. Nymph stages usually take 8-10 weeks. Adults usually die in winter but egg pods are freeze-tolerant, especially when there is sufficient snow cover for insulation.
Damage
They eat almost any plants and they are very destructive. Compared to earwigs, they are active during day time.
Control
Get it under control when they’re still small. Once they develop the wings (adult), it’s hard to kill them with insecticide.
Predator
Praying mantis, chickens, birds- No chemical is used.
- You can encourage birds to come by hanging up a bird feeder.
- Create a healthy eco-system is a long-term sustainable way
- Other pests can be under control.
- Birds and praying mantis can be not-so-effective since you can’t control them
- Chickens can eat your vegetables too…
Bait
Nolo Bait, Eco Bran- Kill by consume: it won’t kill other beneficial insects
- Nolo bait contains Nosema locustae (a natural grasshopper pathogen) which is organic
- Some baits are NOT organic
- Pricey
- Bait becomes soggy when it’s wet
Spray or dust
Sevin, permethrin, bifenthrin- Kill hundreds of types of insects including pollinators
- Very effective when the infestation is bad
- Single application lasts for 3 months
- Can also get rid of squash bugs, grasshoppers, other undesirable pests
- Toxic to birds and your pet, as well as you
Get it control in early spring…
Praying mantis: You can purchase the egg case and release them when they just hatch. They can devour each other so you have to spread them around.
Prevention
Catch them early in spring to prevent your garden get completely destroyed.
Neem oil
Some people have success using neem oil to repel grasshoppers.
Predators
Hang up bird feeders to welcome birds, get praying mantis eggs, or have chickens in your yard.
Traps
There are some DIY traps online such as cutting the top off a drink bottle and inverting the top in the bottle and put grass inside.