Grasshoppers can be a major problem for homeowners with lawns. They can cause extensive damage to plants, flowers, and vegetables, leaving you with an unsightly yard. Grasshoppers as pests can be difficult to get rid of. They’re also very loud, so if you have a yard near your home, they may bother the homeowners or other people in the area.
If you’re like most homeowners, you probably don’t have the foggiest idea how to get rid of these pesky critters. Fear not! There are ways to rid your lawn of them. In this blog post, we will outline how to get rid of grasshoppers using both natural and chemical methods. We will also try to understand why they flock to your yard in the first place, and provide tips on how to prevent them from coming back. So, read on, and learn how to say goodbye to grasshoppers forever!
What Are Grasshoppers?
Grasshoppers are a type of insect in the suborder Caelifera. They are herbivorous, chewing insects that can cause considerable damage to plants, especially cereal grains, grasses, and vegetables. Around 30 species of grasshoppers in the United States cause serious harm to landscaping plants and vegetables.
Grasshoppers are ground-dwelling insects with strong hind legs that allow them to flee from dangers by leaping multiple feet into the air. Grasshoppers are sometimes omnivores, but primarily eat grasses, grains, and plants. They can move in swarms, where they are more commonly known as locusts.
Why Are There Grasshoppers In My Yard?
Grasshoppers may be a serious problem on arid and grassy regions. Therefore, if you live in a drier region of the United States, such as the Midwest and West, they will be more likely to show up in your lawn.
Droughts also encourage an increase in grasshopper populations since grasshoppers frequently seek shade and thrive in warm sunny conditions. A single year of drought is insufficient to cause a significant population increase, but many consecutive dry seasons might do so, especially if the following winters are mild enough that a large number of nymphs survive.
So, if your yard has very little shade and is made primarily of dry grasses and grains, you are more likely to receive grasshoppers as visitors.
How to Eliminate Grasshoppers
Now that you know what grasshoppers are and why they’re in your back garden, it’s time to turn your efforts toward getting them out of there. Grasshoppers are one of the most difficult pests to get rid of, but there are a few ways you can eliminate them from your yard, both using natural methods and chemical ones.
Natural Ways
You should try natural ways first before resorting to chemicals because those might not work and could damage your lawn.
First, see what plants are getting eaten the most by the grasshoppers. Cover these with cheesecloth or crop coverings, so that the grasshoppers lose their primary food sources.
One natural way to keep the grasshopper population in your yard down is to encourage the growth and spread of their natural predators. Swallows and other small birds eat grasshoppers, so perhaps setting up a bird feeder could work. Small snakes and toads are also effective, so you can think of setting up a pond or small wet area in your garden.
Tilling the ground soil can work, because that’s where female grasshoppers lay their eggs. This then kills the eggs and discontinues the cycle, and eventually they will die out. You can also limit the amount of food available to newly hatched nymphs by removing weeds even in areas where there are no garden plants. Taking care to weed often may help to reduce overall grasshopper populations.
Keeping chickens can also be a good idea. Chickens can consume an incredible amount of grasshoppers, so if your location and circumstances allow it, two or three chickens in your garden may control most of the grasshoppers. They also produce you with free eggs! Other domestic birds, such as ducks and geese, also fulfill a similar purpose.
Chemical Ways
While there are chemical pesticides available to get rid of grasshoppers, these can be harmful to both people and the environment. However, they’re also typically more effective – chemical-based grasshopper treatments will kill off these pesky bugs in just four days while natural methods may take up to three weeks.
If you want some relief now and don’t mind using chemicals on your lawn then try Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer for Lawns & Landscapes. This product contains Bifenthrin, which is an insecticide that kills on contact with insects including ants, mosquitoes, ticks and fleas as well as many other varieties of creepy crawlers. However, grasshoppers are generally more robust and durable than other insects, and may prove harder to kill than most.
If nothing else works, please call a professional from a pest control company.
How To Prevent Grasshoppers From Infesting Your Lawn
Grasshoppers can be kept from becoming pests by managing their surroundings and the micro-environment of your lawn. Shade from trees will deter them, and they may be kept away from developing crops by removing thick growth beside ditches and on roadside verges and restricting lush growth near roadways.
On a small scale, neem products and plants, such as Indian Lilac, might be used as a feeding deterrent and as a nymphal development disruptor.
Final Summary
If you’re looking to rid your yard of pesky grasshoppers, take a look at the tips we’ve outlined in this blog post! With so many ways available for eliminating lawn pests like these creepy crawlers, there’s no need to suffer. We hope that one or more of these natural and chemical options will work well for you.
We hope you have found this post informative and helpful. As summer approaches, we recommend that you take the necessary steps to rid your lawn of grasshoppers before it’s too late! However, if this none of these ideas solve the problem then call an exterminator who knows how to eliminate these pesky insects without harming your property! Also remember that prevention is key – it is easier for you if grasshoppers never appear in your lawn in the first place than to get them out.
