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The Grasshoppers Are Coming: What To Do To Prepare

In celebration of the season of green, spring, St. Patrick’s Day, leprechauns and four-leaf clovers; today’s insect topic is about something green. So grasshoppers, some are green and they eat lots of green plants.

Even though it’s still early spring grasshoppers will be out soon. Grasshopper overwintering eggs which are layered in pods in the undisturbed soil will likely have high survival and hatch rates. Young nymphs emerged from eggs and opened lands so rangelands, fields and pastures, and the nymphs start to migrate to attractive green plants when the vegetation dries up.

If grasshoppers have been a chronic pest in your area it’s likely that you’ll need to treat again for this year with grasshopper problems. So, it’s best to treat borderlands, areas surrounding these open lands between that space and your garden space. Products that can be used are bran based bates such as one called Nolo which is a biological insecticide. There are also other types of bates and insecticide sprays.

Cultural practices can also be used. You can cover attractive plants with floating row cover which is a lightweight breathable plant fabric. Make sure you open up row covers at critical times for plants when they require pollination. It’s best if you can recruit neighbors for a community-wide effort to increase the success of grasshopper control.

Check out the grasshopper fact sheet on the Utah Extension website at utahpests.usu.edu.