Raise your hand if you’re feeding grasshoppers in your garden right now. You’re not alone. You are likely hosting several grasshopper varieties which increase in size as they molt and
mature. Full-sized adults are the most problematic as they have wings and can cover more ground. They also have a tougher skin making insecticides less effective.
As with many problems in the garden, early action is important. Nets/floating row covers
can be effective protection for small areas, though grasshoppers have been known to
chew through netting. Gardeners who want to avoid synthetic treatments have to decide
the amount of damage they can tolerate. In suburban areas, it is important for
gardeners to work together to control grasshoppers and limit the destruction.
Insecticides are usually effective when the spray comes in direct contact with the
grasshopper. Most have to be reapplied to eliminate new arrivals. Immature
grasshoppers are limited in their range since they travel by foot. They are easiest to
control at this stage.
Gardeners who choose to use insecticides will likely select one of the following options
labeled for the widest variety of crops:
• permethrin (Hi-Yield Garden & Farm Insect Control, Eight Vegetable, Bonide
Eight Vegetable, Fruit & Flower Concentrate, Bonide Eight Garden Dust),
• cyfluthrin (BioAdvanced Tomato & Vegetable Insect Killer),
• gamma-cyhalothrin (Spectracide Triazicide.
