Jumpin' Grasshoppers!
Created on 7/30/2009
When grasshoppers hit at Biblical proportions there are a few items in the home gardeners arsenal. The first line of defense is spraying the garden area with a natural protozoan, Nosema locustae, that is mixed in a bran bait. (Look for it in garden stores or on-line.) The young grasshoppers eat it, and it eventually kills them. It doesn’t hurt kids or pets, and is considered fine to use in an organic operation. The drawback is it doesn’t work immediately.
Keeping grasshoppers and plants separated by means of a floating row cover is also effective. A friend of mine called bemoaning the grasshoppers on her own basil plants, but once she covered them with the light cover she managed to grow enough for pesto. It can be hard to cover your entire garden, though, so it’s best used for certain favorites. Plus, when they’re hungry enough they will eat fabric. In particularly bad years, use metal screening to keep them away.
Some gardeners plant a special crop for the grasshoppers to keep them out of their garden. This might seem extreme, but it helps keep them out of the beets, at least for a short time. Oddly enough, one of the grasshoppers’ favorites are zinnias. Not good for people who grow these pretty blossoms for cut flowers, but it does create a lovely border around the veggies. Perennial grasses also work well. Keep the area watered and healthy so the grasshoppers don’t wander off into the more delicious main garden.
Another benefit of the “trap crop” is it can be ground zero when it comes to spraying the little darlings. Sevin works well in killing them, and is even more effective when they’re concentrated in one area so it’s not a hit and miss operation. As always, the drawback of Sevin is it kills everything, including the beneficial spiders that eat grasshoppers.
Enlisting the poultry patrol is one of my favorite ways of dealing with grasshoppers. The garden plants aren’t as vulnerable this time of year, and there’s something particularly satisfying watching the chickens and ducks enjoy these hopping treats. You’re benefiting your birds and taking care of the grasshoppers at the same time.
Although most of the country doesn’t have to deal with horrific numbers of grasshoppers they’re still a major nuisance. (I recently read the book, The Worst Hard Times, about the Dust Bowl, which of course, described the plague of grasshoppers. They came in dark clouds, and ate everything before moving on to the next patch of anything alive.) Unless you’re okay with holes in your greens and other vegetables you have to dissuade the grasshoppers from taking up residence in your garden.
