Help!!! Grasshoppers!

Last spring we moved into a new house (in the city) and theres a meadow directly behind or backyard. However, last summer hundreds of grasshoppers came out of the meadow to invade our yard and eat our garden. I realize it's impossible to completly get rid of the hoppers due to the meadow but is there any methods to control them??? I've read they don't like and are deterred by nitrogen fixing plants........is this true??? Any help would be great as we're planning on putting in more gardens this year as well as veggies.

Steven

This message was edited Jan 30, 2009 9:14 PM

I have not heard about that but I have heard of natural enemies such as blister beetles, ground beetles, predatory flies, parasitic flies, and definitely birds. They also need bare soil when laying eggs so try not to cut the grass too low or have bare soil (use mulch).

I am watching this thread as well, would love to rid my yard of grasshoppers.

There are bran baits on the market that can be used for a quick kill.

A long term solution to grasshoppers that worked wonderfully for me is Semaspore and can be purchased at

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/semaspore-grasshopper-bait.html

I had grasshoppers so bad they defoliated everything in my yard and pasture. I used Semaspore three years in a row.
The fourth year I saw a few but they were late in the season. This past year I saw a few in my back pasture, but only a couple around the house. As soon as I notice any baby hoppers this year I intend to apply Semaspore again.

Jerry

This message was edited Jan 31, 2009 10:34 PM

Jerry, I just hit that link to check out that product but the link to their site said that product page was not found.

aardvark7,

Please try it again. It should work now. I had placed a period immediately after the URL.

Jerry

Thanks Jerry, that is an interesting product that I might try. When bought our property a couple of years ago it was a foreclosure and had been neglected for a while; grass/weeds up to my chest (~4ft). The grasshoppers where like a plague, you would walk through or mow and hundreds of grasshoppers would fly through the air. Now, after a couple of years of keeping it all mowed down the population is reduced/relocated but we still have tons of grasshoppers. I might consider just treating the areas up near the house and my veggie garden. Thanks for the link. :)

Thanks for your replies everyone! We're doing our best to attract birds to our yard this year, we've put out a feeder and are planning on putting plants in our gardens to attract birds as well. I really want to try something like Semaspore this year, thank-you for the link :)
However, what about the meadow behind our yard? Should I use the Semaspore there too? Most likely if I get rid of the hoppers in my yard more will just come from the meadow. Late summer last year the grass hoppers at most of the petals of my flowers and I need to prevent it from happening again.

Again, thanks for everyone’s help so far :)
I appreciate it.

Steven

Heres a mum I bought last fall only a few days after I planted it.

Steven, The first year I used Semaspore I wondered about its effectiveness because although I observed sickened baby grasshoppers and partially eaten hoppers I still lost most of my foliage to the hoppers. The second I could see great improvement. The third year even more improvement. The fourth year I didn't buy Semaspore, but saw very few hoppers. Last year I saw hardly any. This coming year I plan to watch for any baby hoppers and will give them a dose of Semaspore. Semaspore has a short shelf life so it doesn't do any good to put it out until you see the baby hoppers. When I see the first baby hoppers I place my order which arrives in about a week.

I purchased 5 lbs each year and put it out probably heavier than required. In years one and two I didn't want any of the hoppers to have to go without any Semaspore. I put it out in a 10 - 20' strip on the neighbor's side of our fence and after finishing my 2 acre yard I went to my back pasture and randomly distributed the remainder of the 5 lb bag. Grass hoppers can travel a ways carrying the spore.

Hope this helps.

I'll second (or third) the Semaspore. Has worked great for me and some other people I know here in MT.

I have noticed in my years of living in different parts of the country and going to different locations in each place (we are a military family) that yards that have a lot of grasshopper pests have something in common - there are a lot of cats around. I don't have cats (never have) and have never had a problem with grasshoppers. The mockingbirds (and other insect eaters) eat them up in the spring so the population (of grasshoppers) doesn't become a problem. It's good to see you are attracting birds as part of the solution. Cats should be kept in the house so they don't kill the precious insect eating birds.

Interesting observation. Add dogs to the list then because my pooches will not allow birds to "visit". I use bird feeders located high to try to counteract the dogs.

Today I was out in the tomato patch and 2 giant flying grasshoppers flew in, they were so big I thought they were hummingbirds at first. The dog caught and ate them both. I think they were Gray Bird Grasshoppers. Whatever they were, I am glad they didn't get a chance to eat the garden, they probably would have wiped out everything as big as they were. Hope there are not more where those came from, they're supposed to be solitary types.

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't replied in a while but I really do appreciate all your posts! I didn't get a chance to order any Semaspore this year but we're still working on our landscaping and getting things set up out back. Thanks for your observation Ladypearl, I'll keep trying to attract those birds. Luckily I don't have any cats and haven't seen any strays so there’s hope that the grasshoppers can be beat!