| Starting out small in the spring, the
eastern lubber grasshopper emerges from the ground with up
to 50 of its brothers and sisters. When small, these
voracious eaters have no wings and are slow hoppers so they
are easy to catch and control with simple, effective
mechanical methods, such as the bottom of your shoe or by
catching and throwing them into a bucket of soapy water.
While some insects prefer just one or only a few feeding
hosts, this grasshopper indiscriminately eats nearly
everything in sight allowing it to grow many times over as
the summer progresses. By fall, the adult is 6"-8"
long, are usually solitary and have developed wings.
While it doesn't really fly, it is a disorganized but noisy
"hopper." By this stage, it also "laughs" at most
attempts at chemical control. To minimize damage to
your garden, watch in the spring for their emergence and
squish as many as possible. It won't prevent later
stages from "flying" into your landscape, but it'll help
keep the population down. |
