We grew up trying to chase grasshoppers in the garden, trying to get hold of them while they traipsed through the garden. You aren’t likely the only person who did that growing up. However, what was once fun has become a necessity as you have grown up. While entertaining one-two grasshoppers around are fun and help with the biome of your garden, it isn’t an accessible choice when you have a locust of grasshopper flocking around in your backyard.
If you are wondering how to get rid of grasshoppers, we have a few effective tips and methods lined up for you. Not just the chemicals or professionals, we have also sorted out some of the best options when it comes to home remedies and DIY that are comparably safe.
We understand that grasshoppers can be extremely damaging to the plants around in your garden. However, that is why we’d highly recommend that you look into all the options before finalizing the choice that works the best for you.
Also read: How to Get Rid of Camel Crickets?
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List of Ways to Get Rid of Grasshoppers
Getting rid of locusts, flies, and grasshoppers can be extremely difficult, especially because they are never stable in one spot. They are consistently moving around, which makes it difficult for one to localize the treatment to eliminate from around the areas.
1. Start with a Garlic Spray
The most potent and likely one of the most effective ways to get rid of grasshoppers is using garlic spray. It could be a store-bought option, or it could be one that you whip up at home. We’d recommend sticking to the store-bought variants because they are more potent and concentrated.
The reason why garlic sprays work is because of the strong smell. The pungent odor helps in keeping the grasshoppers out of reach. Also, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on store-bought variants, here’s how you can make your garlic spray at home.
Start by crushing a few garlic cloves and mixing them with some water to form a solution. You can transfer it to a spray bottle and then use the same to spray out the vicinity of the garden where the grasshoppers visit the most.
2. Sprinkle Flour
Although it sounds very confusing, sprinkling flour all over the leaves can effectively help eliminate all of the grasshoppers in no time at all. When the grasshoppers try to chomp down the leaves, they ingest the flour with it, leaving the flour to gum up their mouth, making it very difficult for them to survive.
If you find specific areas in the garden where the grasshoppers frequent the most, we’d recommend that you sprinkle those plants and the adjoining areas with some flour every day till you see their population reducing significantly.
Sometimes, the flour also prevents the grasshoppers from munching down on the leaves, and they either die from starvation or move ahead to the next best area that they could infiltrate, leaving your house behind.
3. Take Help from Natural Predators
While the previous two remedies require your active participation, there are other ways in which you can get rid of the grasshopper without any further complications. The process isn’t as difficult or confusing as it seems. All you have to do is introduce some kind of natural predator in the area.
For your convenience, you can introduce different kinds of birds, swallows, etc., that typically feed on grasshoppers. While you can’t naturally keep these birds and expect them to stay, adding a bird feeder in the garden is one of the best ways to keep inviting more birds. This will attract more birds and allow you to keep the grasshoppers in control. When it comes to getting rid of grasshoppers, this is likely your best shot.
4. Set Up a Long Grass Trap
Grasshoppers predominantly enjoy long, short, and any kind of grass that you can think of. However, they are preferably more inclined towards long grass. So, if you want to ensure that you can catch them in bulk, setting up a long grass trap on one side of the house is pretty amazing. It allows you to isolate the big chunk of the grasshoppers in a more secluded area and then eliminate them all at once without needing to put in a lot of extra effort.
Just ensure that you are ready to put in the excess physical labor. You just can’t miss out on something because while it is easier to isolate them in one section of the lawn, it is very difficult to catch them by hand.
5. Take Help of Chickens
Yes, you heard it right. Chickens and guinea fowls make amazing grasshopper predators. Even if they can’t get hold of the grasshopper, they can actively eliminate and chase them away from your garden, which is often more than enough for you to get going with the quest of getting rid of them from the area.
Since grasshoppers are rich in protein, it isn’t surprising that they make a good part of the diets of chickens and guinea fowls. Just ensure that they hunt them in moderation and don’t eat too much because that can be fatal for them too.
6. Till Your Ground
If you see a sudden increase in the grasshopper population in your garden, be assured that it is due to the female grasshopper laying eggs in the soil. So, your best bet to eliminate that and prevent further birth of the baby grasshopper would be to till the soil around your garden. Not only does this aerate the soil, but you also destroy any remnant eggs in the process.
We’d recommend doing it once or twice a month when you notice a sudden increase in the number of grasshoppers that are flocking around the garden. The duration between late fall and early spring is your ideal time to do the tilling because that’s when the eggs typically hatch.
7. Get Rid of the Weeds
Like the long growing grass, even weeds make a bad decision for the grasshoppers. If you are lazy and don’t take care of the weed by hand, the chances are that they will grow to become ideal homes for the grasshoppers. The area around the weeds is also where the grasshoppers typically lay their eggs. Since the area is so crowded, it keeps their eggs secure.
Weeding now and then gets rid of the nymphs and the eggs that are likely going to hatch without any kind of warning. If you can’t work on it by yourself, we’d recommend that you get professional help.
8. Shield the Vulnerable Plants
Sometimes, with grasshoppers, even with all the tricks and tips, you can’t necessarily protect all the plants you have around. So, if you find any kind of vulnerable plants in the garden that need protection, we’d recommend that you do cover up the plants with cheesecloth. This will shield your plant against the grasshoppers and other insects that feed on these leaves.
Just make sure that you change the protective cheesecloth after every few days. This will protect and keep the plant growing without any compromise at all.
9. Use Chemical Products
If nothing else is working out for you, your last bet is to spray on some sort of chemical sprays and insecticides. They work very profoundly, effectively helping remove the unwarranted and uncharted grasshopper. The good thing about them is that they remove the grasshoppers and prevent them from coming back, which is always a benefit.
However, these chemical sprays and products come with many harsh chemical compounds that can damage the plants and put your pet and kids’ health at risk. So, make sure you are cautious while spraying it around.
We hope this article answers how to get rid of grasshoppers. If you were confused or didn’t know how to deal with them, these are some of the easy tricks that can help. Just ensure that you follow along with the tips and tricks we have mentioned to make the process of understanding a lot easier for you. Also, if nothing seems to work out, we’d recommend calling a professional exterminator to help you out.
Also read: How to Get Rid of Frogs?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Kills Grasshoppers Immediately?
The chemical repellents are the most potent in killing the grasshoppers pretty much immediately without any time.
What Smell Repels Grasshoppers?
Like most of the other insects, Grasshoppers don’t appreciate stronger and more potent smells like garlic and other aromatics. We’d recommend that you use garlic, peppermint, etc.
Why Does My Yard Have So Many Grasshoppers?
Grasshoppers typically infiltrate homes during the hot summer days. So, if you find a lot of grasshoppers flocking around your garden, the weather is to blame for it.