Home Home and Auto Pests Insects Getting Rid of Grasshoppers

Getting Rid of Grasshoppers!

I need to find a safe way to eliminate the grasshoppers from eating ALL the leaves off the plants in my garden. They leave nothing but the stalk. I don't want to affect the bees and other "good" insects.
Help!
DKA

Get Some Chickens

Keep chickens or guinea hens. They eat loads of grasshoppers and will save your garden from destruction. Many cities and towns allow keeping these birds with permits.
Steve

Some Like It Hot

Hot pepper wax insect repellent is the key. It's in all the garden catalogs. Insects can't stand the taste, and therefore do not eat the leaves! And it's natural.
Joseph

Ask the Doctor

You have to check out this website www.dirtdoctor.com. He believes in natural organic solutions to gardening problems.
Kim from WI

Another Chicken Proponent

The simple organic answer is chickens! I had a plague of grasshoppers in my orchard that would leap out of the grass as you walked along. I let my four chickens loose in there during the day, and the problem was gone in a couple of weeks. They may scratch at the garden beds and you may have to tidy up more often, but it's worth it to get rid of the grasshoppers. They also give you hours of entertainment. There's something very comical about the sight of a hen in hot pursuit of a startled grasshopper!
Jo in Western Australia

Look for Neem

Natural insecticides with Neem as the active ingredient will kill grasshoppers. I do not think it will harm other insects, but check the label.

Neem trees are common in the Indian subcontinent and are prized in the villages where they occur. The leaves are a natural disinfectant and insecticide. Toothpaste made with Neem extract is available in the U.S. and is effective against sores in the mouth.
Eunice

Try Ecobran

There's a product called "Ecobran" that is a grasshopper bait containing a fungus that only affects grasshoppers and their close relatives. It doesn't affect other insects or birds.
Lorene

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