I hate grasshoppers

[coloken]

Just came from my little GH. I had started 4 little tomatoes to try to grow this winter in the GH and in the house. Just moved them at about 2 inches tall to 5 gal SWCs. The 5 gal. bucket that say Oregon spring is empty except for a grasshopper sitting there with a smile on his face. It was the only OS that I had started. I put 2 more OS seeds to sprout, but that cost me at least a month or 6 weeks. I doube they will ever make it.
KennyP

[mdvpc]

Kenny:

I am with you all the way-I hate grasshoppers also. I use a product called nolo that does a pretty good job of keeping them down. I put it out in the spring and summer, they eat it, it kills them, and then the other grasshoppers eat the dead ones, and so on. You understand.

I have found once they have started feeding, even the live ones are lethargic once they have eaten the bait.

Has really helped my problem.

Sorry for your disappointment.

[piegirl]

Not quite as bad as last year but they can sure make a mess of your patch. Do you have screens or glass - assuming GH is greenhouse that would keep them out? They were a favorite of my Kitty Boy, he wasn't the brightest kitty but he could hunt grasshopper. Maybe if you put bridal tulle w/ some sticks to keep it off the seedlings. you could tuck the ends under the pots. piegirl

I am so glad to hear about that Nolo bait for next year. The grasshoppers started popping out of the ground shortly after I planted my spring garden. The early high heat pretty much stopped my tomatoes from producing so it didn't bother me much to see the little hoppers munching on my tomato plants. They did wipe out my chard by munching it as soon as it germinated and they damaged a lot of my other veggies.

As the summer wore on and got hotter, the hoppers seemed to love it. I had to start thinking about wearing goggles when I went to my garden in case one of the really big ones flew up and hit me in the eye. Those things got so big, I thought about buying a saddle and just riding them.

I think we had one of those plague years for grasshoppers. Supposedly the natural cycle for hoppers is a plague year every six or seven years. I sure hope that is right. I don't want to watch them devour my garden next year. I might have to look into pricing for that Nola by the ton.

Ted

[coloken]

I had been leaving the door open during the day and never though about the grasshoppers. He had several 4 foot tomatoes and a large zukinee and a bunch of oher stuff including a tray of lettuce to eat but he chose my one and only little Oregon spring. I feel like I lost a child.
Thanks too for the nolo suggestion. Can you remind us again about it next May?
KennyP

[mdvpc]

Ted: A little nolo goes a long way-I buy 5 pounds of it and use it all at once, twice a year. It has a short shelf life.

Kenny-Sorry, but I have lots of things to remember myself. You are going to have to set your own reminder.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by coloken

I had been leaving the door open during the day and never though about the grasshoppers. He had several 4 foot tomatoes and a large zukinee and a bunch of oher stuff including a tray of lettuce to eat but he chose my one and only little Oregon spring. I feel like I lost a child.
Thanks too for the nolo suggestion. Can you remind us again about it next May?
KennyP

I'll try to say this nicely, but I don't think your loss of Oregon Spring is a big loss.

[coloken]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

I'll try to say this nicely, but I don't think your loss of Oregon Spring is a big loss.

Honest opinions are the best kind.
We still love you Carolyn.
Follow up:
Sat I saw the hopper sitting on the edge of a bucket eyeballing my little sophie's choice. When I made a grab for him he landed in the water tank. Easy to catch then. He or she is now in hopper heaven discussing the relative taste of heirloom tomatoes.

Early in the summer, I had hundreds of small grasshoppers in my garden all the time. Most of them are gone now. The very few that remain are huge. I sent one to grasshopper heaven today that was over three inches long. He or she was happily munching on a cucumber leaf just moments before his or her demise.

Ted

[pinakbet]

2 hoppers munching my corn... or making love on my corn?

[remy]

Originally Posted by pinakbet

2 hoppers munching my corn... or making love on my corn?

Uhh....I think they are doing both.
Remy

[Direct Sunlight]

Originally Posted by tedln

Early in the summer, I had hundreds of small grasshoppers in my garden all the time. Most of them are gone now. The very few that remain are huge. I sent one to grasshopper heaven today that was over three inches long. He or she was happily munching on a cucumber leaf just moments before his or her demise.

Ted

Organic sprays don't seem to bother them a bit. They usually thump me with their back legs to try to get me to let go. That only worked once.