Lately when you’ve walked through your garden, have you noticed swarms of grasshoppers bouncing out of your way? They’re not just annoying; they also cause serious damage by chewing holes in the leaves, stems and fruit of your plants.
What can you do to control these critters? You can always go the chemical route, using baits, dusts and spray insecticides. But there can be complications, such as the expense, need for reapplication, killing of beneficial insects, and chemical sensitivity issues for gardeners with allergies. Also, grasshoppers move around a lot, making it difficult to reach them.
So what are other options for dealing with grasshoppers? Here are five suggestions.
- Invite natural predators. One reason I cultivate a pollinator/wildlife-friendly garden is because birds and other creatures like to feast on pests, including grasshoppers. Provide native trees and shrubs where animals can hang out and raise their families. Avoid using pesticides, which can harm beneficial insects in addition to harmful ones.
- Get rid of weeds. Weeds provide food for newly hatched babies, as well as egg-laying adults.
- Till your soil. Till in the early spring, summer and late fall to destroy grasshopper eggs buried in the ground.
- Raise chickens. Chickens, ducks and geese love to feast on grasshoppers, so if you’ve been thinking about establishing a chicken coop or other shelter, think about these birds’ pest-control capabilities.
- Dust your plants with flour. When grasshoppers ingest flour, it interferes with their digestive systems. Of course, you have to reapply the flour after irrigation or after a rain. But if you used an insecticidal dust, you would have to do the same thing anyway.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to deal with grasshoppers, you can always just wait for them to die off when the weather gets cold. You can also let your cats treat them as playthings, pouncing on them periodically.
Blossoms & Blueprints 