Hey, I happen to have a grasshopper problem. I can squash those cucumber beetle or squash bugs all day without feeling crappy but I just can't kill the grasshoppers. I'm hoping for an organic, humane way to prevent them or repel them from my garden. They eat a small fraction of my established plants but have prevented many plants from growing so far, which is the real problem.
Thanks ahead of time!
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Gary350
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7696
- Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
I had grasshoppers this year they have very good eye sight I can not get close to them or they jump and disappear into the plants. I am shooting them dead with a BB Gun. The larger 2" grasshoppers must have had babies because about a week or so later I saw lots of smaller grasshoppers. My cats saw those little bugs jumping all over the place and took off catching them and eating them. Cats will go after anything that moves so the grasshoppers never had a chance.
This year we have seen an influx of grasshoppers. It seems to run in cycles. We have not had a 'hopper problem for several years. So far they have not been eating everything in sight but are definitely a nuisance. They are hard to kill with any chemical unless you get to them at a young stage. I use as little chemical control as possible, so we just tolerate them and hope next year is a down year.
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applestar
- Mod
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- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Luckily I don’t get grasshoppers in great numbers around here. I have seen them in ones and twos and they DO cause significant damage. But usually they are only around in late summer - fall when most plants are full-grown. Are the plants able to hold their own once they grow bigger?
How big is your garden?
Since I have a small-ish garden and individual garden beds for the most part, the technique that I think I might use under same circumstances is to use insects excluding barrier cover — I bought a bolt of tulle last year and still haven’t used it up.
I have made low and medium tunnel covers with it, as well as covers for flats. Tulle is not UV protected so doesn’t last more than a couple of months, but I also have insect screen that used to be an integrated low tunnel. Although the the tape that used to attach the net fabric to the hoops have come apart, the fabric is still usable. I have also priced large swathes of mosquito netting (sold for camping etc.) and think they are reasonable for sturdier use.
For support hoops, I mostly use the hoops that came with the tunnels that fell apart — note that yes you CAN buy these tunnels — but for DIY for small seedlings/plants, you could lay tomato cages on their sides. For medium size hoops, I use coiled PVC pipe/tubing cut to size.
You could also get coiled heavy gauge galvanized wire which can be cut to make hoops ... some gardening supply sites sell them for this purpose ... or simply use a light gauge wire or chicken wire fencing.
How big is your garden?
Since I have a small-ish garden and individual garden beds for the most part, the technique that I think I might use under same circumstances is to use insects excluding barrier cover — I bought a bolt of tulle last year and still haven’t used it up.
I have made low and medium tunnel covers with it, as well as covers for flats. Tulle is not UV protected so doesn’t last more than a couple of months, but I also have insect screen that used to be an integrated low tunnel. Although the the tape that used to attach the net fabric to the hoops have come apart, the fabric is still usable. I have also priced large swathes of mosquito netting (sold for camping etc.) and think they are reasonable for sturdier use.
For support hoops, I mostly use the hoops that came with the tunnels that fell apart — note that yes you CAN buy these tunnels — but for DIY for small seedlings/plants, you could lay tomato cages on their sides. For medium size hoops, I use coiled PVC pipe/tubing cut to size.
You could also get coiled heavy gauge galvanized wire which can be cut to make hoops ... some gardening supply sites sell them for this purpose ... or simply use a light gauge wire or chicken wire fencing.
I used to get locusts and leaf footed bugs when I lived near a ravine. The only way I could grow anything in the garden was to cover it with insect netting. You have to keep them excluded once they get inside, it is impossible to get any harvest. I have also use tulle from the fabric store as insect netting. It works as long as the netting is not damaged.
https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/env ... g-is--envm
https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/env ... g-is--envm