 The first question you've got
to ask is are the grasshoppers doing damage... or are
they just sitting on your plants? Try these simple
things; if they don?t work, then we start using poison
and other less desirable methods...
Passive
Repellants
If they are doing heavy damage to
the leaves, try placing a few dead ones on your plants,
hang them there in plain view. Smash up some fresh
cloves of garlic and spread them around your plants. Try
Moth balls (They seem to repel all kinds of critters).
Set up some stakes around the perimeter of your
plants, and use a fine mesh around your plants. It will
let in lots of light, air, rain, etc but keep the larger
critters like grasshoppers out. Make sure you do not
trap a bunch of them within the mesh when setting it up.
This method completely ruins a stealth garden. In
addition, you must remove the mesh when you water/feed
your plants, and you will have to keep raising it higher
as your plants grow taller.
You can try spraying
with a homemade mixture. Mix water, crushed garlic, hot
peppers, tobascco sauce, and other hot and/or repulsive
ingredients into a big pot, bring to boil, stewing
everything around. Let this mixture sit for a few days,
stirring occasionally. Strain the liquid out into a
spray bottle and spray your plants two or three times a
week, and after rainfall. Try not to spray the bud sites
later into the season. That should keep the buggers
away; however the sweet liquid may attract ants, which
are easier to kill off.
Chemical control
If the hoppers are persistent, you can add
poison (like diaznol or similar) and spray the plants,
but be very careful not to spray the bud sites! Some
chemicals are 'puffed' onto your plants, however after
morning dew or rain, the powder will get wet and run
into your buds! As a result, the powder will remain as a
wet clump and cause mold, ruining your entire crop. If
your crop does survive, you are smoking poison.
Stoner133 has brought to my attention
that the natural enemies of grasshoppers include
beetles, birds, mice, snakes, and spiders.
brokenear suggests this recipe:
7
pints water
1 pint liquid Sevin % Dust
1 pint
molasses
10 pints wheat germ
Mix all
together to form a dough-like substance and roll into
balls to place around your plants. You can even mold a
string into the balls and hang them in your plants.
Apparently the hoppers love it, to death! Bait provides
yet another option for grasshopper control. Sevin
insecticide can be impregnated on bran bait at a rate of
2% or 5% to provide good control, when properly timed.
Early treatment is the most effective
and may be the most effective way to deal with localized
grass hopper damage.
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