Grasshoppers in Texas, I need help

[chastom]

I am an organic farmer/gardener and I have the grasshopper plague/infestation that has been common the past couple of years. The infestation this year is earlier and heavier than last year.
At this time, the grasshoppers are about 1" long and many are just 'sitting' on the tomato, or on a tomato plant leaf. The only thing I know of that might work is spraying Surround WP, which is a wettable powder. And the other solution, which I have already tried with not much results, is NoLo. The area I would need to treat is just too big to try to 'control' the grasshoppers with NoLo.
If anyone else knows of anything I can do to keep the grasshoppers from eating up my tomato crop, I would be very appreciative.

[SIP Gro-Tubs]

Originally Posted by chastom

I am an organic farmer/gardener and I have the grasshopper plague/infestation that has been common the past couple of years. The infestation this year is earlier and heavier than last year.
At this time, the grasshoppers are about 1" long and many are just 'sitting' on the tomato, or on a tomato plant leaf. The only thing I know of that might work is spraying Surround WP, which is a wettable powder. And the other solution, which I have already tried with not much results, is NoLo. The area I would need to treat is just too big to try to 'control' the grasshoppers with NoLo.
If anyone else knows of anything I can do to keep the grasshoppers from eating up my tomato crop, I would be very appreciative.

Years ago there was a article in MotherEarth, about making your own Bacteria spray.

Collect the bugs you want to control, mash them up in a container and sit the container out in the sun for a week. the mess will grow a bacteria like BT. Strain the mixture and use the bug juice in a spray on them. The bacteria will do the work.

NoLo bait has to be used before they hatch out of the ground and you really need to treat tha areas around your property to be effective.

Another option is Grasshoppers like something sweet. Get some Molasses and dilute it with water. Set this concoction in pans that are about 6-8" tall, like the drain pans for changing oil.

After sitting the pans with solution, squirt the top of the mix with Ivory Dish soap, and stir slowly. They will get a whiff of the solution and try to land in it, but will sink to the bottom and drown. Just check the traps and use a minnow net to remove them.

DE dust, water, Ivory dish soap spray. Mix 1 cup DE dust in a gl of water, Squirt in about 2 TBS of soap. Spray this on them. Note: While spraying you need to keep agitating the mixture to keep the DE dust suspended in the water.

Just by using the soap and water will drown the critters. The soap will displace the waxy coating along thier abdomen opening the pores that they breath thru, and allowing the water to penetrate the pores to drown them.

Just ask any Fire Dept. on what they use to kill the dreaded "Killer Bees" they carry a 5 gl bucket of a highly concentrated liguid soap. When needed they will dump the bucket into the top of thier tank of water and spray you and everything around you the soapwater instantly drowns the bees.

Backup control: Get some Guinea hens, they will keep your place clean of all insects. Or you can get Field chickens and they will do the same. Just let them roam freely.

Terry Layman

[Redbaron]

Terry is right and I have used his method before. It was in an Organic gardening issue years ago. Works a lot of the time.

If you have a large area you can try this. First spray hot pepper on your tomato plants. This won't stop them, but it will slow them down a lot. The hotter the spray the better. Super hot ghost peppers are great for this.

Then use this:
semaspore Nosema locustae


There are better fungi in the works, but the only company I know of that commercially made them went out of business (got bought out by a company that closed down that product). So for now this is about the best.

[reeltime]

Like post # 2 said get you some chickens

[Dewayne mater]

There is one other solution I've heard of that works for grasshoppers and even stink bugs. Kaolin clay. You spray it on and its like the entire plant is coated in a mud bath and looks ugly as can be. However, bugs hate the stuff and when ripe, you can pick and easily wash it off. It is considered acceptable for organic use I believe.

Dewayne M

[Worth1]

Spread gunpowder up and down your rows and light a match.

No really here is a prevention you can think about next year.

Keep all tall grass mowed around your garden.
If possible all the way to the dirt.
This will sometimes send them in another direction.
Plant trap crops such as eggplant around the tomatoes.
Cut grass and weed eat away from the garden.
I other words start cutting close to the garden and work your way out, this will drive them away from the protected area.
Write your congressman about reestablishing grasshopper control measures in the US.
I have heard this was dropped I dont know if it still is.

If possible, netting will stop them.

Ducks chickens and geese do a great job of eating them and the eggs are glorious.

Worth

[Crandrew]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Spread gunpowder up and down your rows and light a match.

Hahah worth you are trouble.

[wmillan]

best thing to do here. is use NEEM extract. neem is a plant that naturally repeals all insects
so try to buy some extract and dissolve it with water. and spray on all your plants that you want to protect. Neem is 100% organic. does not contain any chemicals. and it works
in some areas of mexico where there are plenty of mosquitoes
they plant neem trees around the houses and they also repeals them

[Tormato]

I'd turn Cowboys Stadium into a giant fondue pot...


fill it with chocolate...


round up all the grasshoppers...


invite all...


and Worth brings the beer.

[chastom]

Well, after reviewing all the comments , I am going to continue to spray surround wp (kaolin clay ),also a small amount of neem oil ,since the temps are hitting 100 here, I don't want to burn them .

last comes what may be a the real solution,

putting out large amounts of gun powder and lighting it ...

Worth may be right here!

[Redbaron]

You might be right Chastom But in all seriousness I think the chicken option is the most elegant. You turn bug protein into delicious eggs! AND fertilize your crop at the same time!

I had planned to do that myself this year, but ran out of budget to make the portable "chicken tractors".

[Salsacharley]

Do chickens like tomatoes?

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

Do chickens like tomatoes?

Chickens love tomatoes. They will eat em all if you let them. So of course you have to keep them away from the actual tomato plants.

Chickens are great for grasshoppers but they also love tomatoes especially red ripe tomatoes.

I don't know why we have experienced such a horrendous grasshopper problem in Texas the last three summers but I have been searching the sky for that proverbial flock of seagulls to stop the plague.

Nolo is a good product, but it must be applied when the grasshoppers are small. It is a granular product that the young grasshoppers eat and then die. It is my understanding the young grasshoppers are cannibalistic and the residual effect of Nolo will kill multiple generations.

Another good product is Tempo SC Ultra. It is a synthetic pyrethroid and is claimed by many people to be organic because it duplicates a natural product synthetically. I don't make any claims about it except it does kill grasshoppers for an extended period of time. It is used by exterminators in restaurants, hospitals, schools, and food processing plants. It is also used on many food crops as a broad spectrum pesticide.

I visited a friends garden today. He is a strict organic grower of many vegetables on a two acre plot. As we wandered through his garden, it became obvious he will lose his entire garden to grasshoppers. Every tomato, cucumber, water melon, , okra, squash, and corn plant was covered with them. I admire him because his "organic" ethics prevent him from taking any actions which violate his beliefs.

I don't use Tempo in my garden, but I do apply a ten foot wide band along a fence line which separates my garden area from a thick stand of trees and vegetation where the grasshoppers over winter and migrate to my garden. By applying the barrier, they never make it to my garden. I don't have any health concerns about using it in my garden, but I don't like the idea of killing every insect in any environment. Tempo kills all of them for a long time. If you grow vegetables which require pollination, Tempo will also kill all the pollinators on contact with residuals of the product for about two months. It is highly toxic to many aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates. It has exhibited no toxicity to mammals.

Ted

[SIP Gro-Tubs]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

You might be right Chastom But in all seriousness I think the chicken option is the most elegant. You turn bug protein into delicious eggs! AND fertilize your crop at the same time!

I had planned to do that myself this year, but ran out of budget to make the portable "chicken tractors".

What size chicken tractor were you going to make?

How many days would you leave it in place, before moving it?

How many chickens would you need for the size of chicken tractor you were going to make?

It sounds like a interesting concept.

Terry Layman