Thirsty Dirt: Damn ‘dem Hoppers

This year we are having trouble with a new sort of pest – grasshoppers. Areas in the County have seen higher than average numbers of grasshoppers and until recently, this did not affect us. Just within the last few weeks we have started to notice a number of them in the garden and at this time I would be tempted to call it an infestation.

Depending on the time of day, when you walk through the lawn, or garden, all the grasshoppers try to jump away from you creating a wave as you walk through them. Once you stop it sounds like heavy rain; that’s the sound of all ‘dem hoppers landing.

A while ago I read an article in the newspaper talking about all the grasshoppers this year: they said the grasshoppers weren’t doing any damage. Ya right, they need to come look at my garden. Just about every plant has been nibbled on, some more so than others. The plants with the most damage are the potatoes, swiss chard and spinach. What little spinach growth there is has almost completely been eaten, the swiss chard is full of holes and the edges are trimmed back and most potato leaves, especially the plants along the edge of the garden, have leaves trimmed back as well. I just hope they stay out of my tomato plants; they’ve had a rough enough year as it is. And disgusting as it sounds, there’s a lot of visible grasshopper poop around too. Oh, and they are enjoying the sunflower leaves as well. In the evening when it starts to cool off the grasshoppers congregate on the sunflowers and bask in the evening sun.

Little buggers!

So how does one get rid of grasshoppers? Apparently the best way to get rid of grasshoppers in your garden is chickens or ducks followed by guinea pigs. Did you know guinea pigs eat grasshoppers? Does anybody have any chickens I can borrow?

Apparently another good method is to dust your plants with all purpose flour; I guess it gums up the grasshopper’s mouth and then they can’t eat and die. For some reason you can only leave the flour on your plants for two days and then you have to wash off it off and wait a week before reapplying. I think I’ll pass on this option because I don’t feel like washing flour off my plants as I think it could be a real chore – I’d rather chase every single one with a fly swatter. And of course there is my ever so faithful DE. Apparently dusting plants with DE can also help control grasshoppers. I’ve started to do this and the numbers seem to be decreasing; I’m not sure if it’s the DE or other environmental influences.

My boss has a garden and we discuss our gardens almost daily. He suggested I catch them and start making chocolate covered grasshoppers – any buyers?

Photos of Some Damage: