by Carolyn Noblett

Created on: September 03, 2009   Last Updated: May 01, 2012

When we were kids everyone was fascinated with grasshoppers. We caught them, played with them, watched them spit what we thought was tobacco juice and ran from them when they flew at us. We were so innocent then. We thought they were just there for our enjoyment. Little did we know. What our parents must have been going through when those things invaded their lawns and gardens.

As one gets a little older they start cussing when grasshoppers splat on the windshield and make a big mess. Or maybe they just grasp onto the windshield wiper and come along for the ride. You've probably noticed they don't let go of the windshield wiper either. You know when you get out of your car they are going to hop right onto you.

If you start seeing a slew of grasshoppers moving about when you walk through your yard, you may already be in trouble. If it gets severe you won't be able to open your front door without something hopping or flying in, and every time you step outside you will get grasshopper goo on your shoes. You might get it on your inside floors too if you don't take off the shoes.

Chances are good they came from the dry empty lot next door, especially if it is undisturbed, slightly weedy, and has little or no vegetation. That's where they like to lay their eggs. When the young chew up their resources they start eyeballing your lawn, and also your garden if you have one.

If your lawn has been invaded by grasshoppers and they have reached a full adult stage, chances are good that your neighbors are suffering the same problem. If you treat your lawn the hoppers may move on but could lay eggs that overwinter and return the next year. What works the very best is for everyone to organize and plan an attack. Baits to kill the adults and insecticides for the hatching areas will probably be necessary.

Your very best bet in the beginning is to contact the university extension for your area and enlist their help. They will be able to help you identify which formulations work the best and explain what the advantages and disadvantages of chemical counter-attack will be. Probably the worst thing you can do is nothing. Even after you treat your areas in whatever method is best, it will take weeks for most of them to die out and by then they will have devoured much of what was green in your lawn.

Don't panic though. Just because you have grasshoppers doesn't mean you have a full blown invasion. That's why you need to check with your extension agent. With your agent and neighbors you can do some investigating and decide if you have an invasion that's only going to worsen or if it's just that time of year. If it is, your kids will be happy to see the grasshoppers are not a threat after all and they can continue to hop around after them.

By the way that stuff we thought was tobacco juice is not really tobacco juice at all. It's just a defense mechanism that a grasshopper produces when they are bothered or annoyed. Who would have thought that a grasshopper could even get annoyed?

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