Need help with pest control

Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:19 am

Does anyone know of an organic pest control for grasshoppers? I have some real WHOPPERS in my North Florida veggie garden. Last season they ate my okra plants down to the bare stalk then started on my corn! I can't find any mention of a control for them in my books or catalogs. They are brown and green and about 4-5 inches long. I'd sure like to find a way to wipe them out before this season gets started.

Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:38 am

PLague of locusts, and big ones at that... :shock:

Man has been searching for the cure to this one from the first time we raised crops. While there is some cutting edge work being done with some biological agents, (Metarhizium anisopliae is a fungus that infects and kills and Nosema locustae is a micropredator of their eggs) all the info I found was scholarly and for organizational use, not homeowners.

The one predatory beneficial that might help would be mantises; they can be found in most good garden centers or here,,,

http://www.organiccontrol.com/solutions.html

I'll keep looking...

Sat Feb 11, 2006 6:06 am

Welcome to the Forum Lucky Flowers! Glad you found us.

There is a microbial insecticide call "Nosema Locustae" that is supposed to work within 2-3 weeks of using it.
Another option is to cover your plant with garden or remay cloth, or a row cover.
There is also a product available call Semaspore Bait that is a biological control, and is not supposed to be harmful to other species.
I have not tried any of these, as it is rare for us to even see a grasshopper, let alone hoards of them, so I can't tell you whether any of them work. Those are the only treatments I was able to find in all my literature.

Best of luck! Feel free to stop back with any further questions or problems, or just to chat. Let us know how you make out! :wink:

Val

Mon Feb 13, 2006 2:13 am

Combined with the methods outlined above, add as much Carbon to your soil as possible in the form of leaves and manure. Plant cover crops that attract beneficial insects in the off season and when your plants are out. The more Soil Organic Matter there is, the more predatory insects and predators microbes there are.

With nectar containing flowers that have bright colours, predatory insects are attracted that will prey on the grasshoppers.

Also, try moving your plants around in your yard maybe from the front to the back.

Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:23 am

Brown and green and that big?

We always saw the yellow ones with the black freckles and pink (yes, PINK) wings when I lived in FL. The adults were at least five inches long. They'd hatch in the hundreds, all these little all-black hoppers with a pink, yellow, or orange stripe down their backs. These things ate EVERYTHING. And then when they became the adult yellows - they were nearly impossible to kill. I spent one July 4th attatching one to bottle rockets for hours... it just wouldn't DIE. :lol:

The only method of control I knew was to have the neighbor kids over for a stomping party. Kid with the most dead grasshoppers won some kind of prize.

Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:33 am

Now THAT is the kind of thinking I'v ecome to expect from my mods; out of the box and effective...

The bottle rocket thing is just sick tho... :twisted:

Scott

Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:40 am

Yikesu desu yo :shock:

Mon Feb 13, 2006 4:11 am

I know a kid that put one of those grasshoppers in tupperware and microwaved it. Understand, these grasshoppers are VERY MUCH HATED.

THAT, to me, seems meaner... I won't tell you the end result... but there are enough scientific minds on here that I'm sure they'll know how a microwave heats things... and what might happen to a critter...

Mon Feb 13, 2006 4:13 am

...POP.

Sorry I couldn't resist. :lol:

Anyway - the stomping is really the most effective control I know of.

Mon Feb 13, 2006 4:19 am

The things we do :wink:

But seriously, the reason why pests linger in a given area is because they a) have a food source or b) have no predators

So, do what is recommend above and also do a little research as to what predators (like birds) that grasshoppers have and plant vegetation that attracts the predators. (perennial sunflowers like Helianthus Mamixllani comes to mind) Also, look to see if there are any plants that repel grasshoppers, I think there is a thread in the organic section that information on plants that repel various pests.

Mon Feb 13, 2006 4:21 am

Ha! The thread is right above this one! Take a look in the Beneficial insects thread.

Wed Apr 05, 2006 4:02 pm

Do bats eat grasshoppers? I am thinking about putting out more bat houses. Last year we had some HUGE grasshoppers fly into the house. I didn't even know they could fly!

Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:41 pm

It would make sense that some bats would eat grasshoppers. Some of them do feast on insects. Though, I don't know for sure that they eat grasshoppers.