garcaj
Full Member
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu May 07, 2009 5:54 pm

Losing the hopper battle

Hello All~

I am ready to put out my white flag and surrender to the unyielding and, apparently, indestructible annihilators of all things green and growing; the small but mighty grasshopper.
I know not what to do anymore. The neem spray seems to do nothing but coat them in a woodsy, citrusy scent. It's like showering them with perfume so they can smell nice while they work tirelessly at devouring everything in sight.
I tried using the nolo bait. Nolo bait nolo work on them. They are so numerous every step I take outside is like stepping on fireworks as these flying insects shoot out in all directions.
This is my first real garden and I wished it to be an organic one and have not used any chemicals or pesticides at all and the earth here has never been treated with anything unnatural. The aphid looking insects, brown and green that look like something from mars are bad enough, but the hoppers are by far the most destructive. I fear I will lose much more or whatever is left. I have yet to harvest tomatoes and peppers and zucchini and corn, among other things, because of this higher elevation and the mild summer we have had and the crops are just now producing buds and veggies.
Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Sunny (and rainy) days to all~
A

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Here's one place to start:

Predators include snakes, toads, cats, mice, a number of birds (bluebirds, sparrows, mockingbirds and others), chickens, ducks, geese, spiders, horsehair and some other nematodes, praying mantis

Barriers: grasshoppers are said to be repelled by horehound, cilantro, calendula, garlic oil, and nitrogen-fixing crops like peas and sweet clover.
Row covers, like Reemay, or screens can be effectively used to keep them from your crops.

Garlic Oil Spray
To make: Combine 3 ounces of minced garlic cloves with 1 ounce of mineral oil. Let soak for 24 hours or longer. Strain.
Next mix 1 teaspoon of fish emulsion with 16 ounces of water. Add 1 tablespoon of castile soap to this.
Now slowly combine the fish emulsion water with the garlic oil. Kept in a sealed glass container this mixture will stay viable for several months. To use: Mix 2 tablespoons of garlic oil with 1 pint of water and spray.
https://www.ghorganics.com/page12.html

But type grasshoppers into the search box on upper left of most pages. There's been a lot written in here already about dealing with them. Once person recommended the tried and true method of stomping on them! :)

User avatar
nes
Green Thumb
Posts: 631
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:20 am
Location: Rural Ottawa, ON

Lizards :)

You can borrow my kitty though, we're infested with little black crickets & she's going nuts eating every one of them that come into the house! :).

I've also found keeping the grass cut really low around the veggie garden seems to help deter them.

Ducks are a good option if you can borrow/home a couple.

User avatar
stella1751
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1494
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:40 am
Location: Wyoming

Nes wrote:
You can borrow my kitty though, we're infested with little black crickets & she's going nuts eating every one of them that come into the house!
This brought back memories of living in Montana when I was a kid and catching grasshoppers for the family cat to eat. Neither of us was terribly intelligent: I caught them; he ate them until he threw up :shock:

garcaj
Full Member
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu May 07, 2009 5:54 pm

Kitties and ducks! I think it would be great to have these although the duck may be of a different opinion as to co-habitating with a cat. :lol:
But, both are a good suggestion. I would not have a clue where to get a duck in these parts. The nearest, above water source is 125 miles away at the Rio Grande and ducks are not in high demand around here. Cats are more doable. We had several cats before, actually, but there was so much trouble with raccoons fighting with them and causing a disaster trying to bust into the garage we finally decided not to subject any more cats to that kind of terror.
Thanks also to the garlic oil and screen suggestions. We had not considered any of these as options so thank you to you all.
A



Return to “Vegetable Gardening Forum”