Am I supposed to kill these grass hoppers?
by
Pat S
+22
I'm not big on killing bugs, I figure they have a reason to be. But I read somewhere that people kill them. I haven't. As long as they don't bother me, I don't bother them.
25 answers
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I'd appreciate it if you did. It seems over the past 5 years their numbers have been increasing to the point I have been finding at least 6 in my yard gnawing on my plants every single day this summer and last. Jokingly I've stated I believe I'm the only one killing these things. Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties had a virtual plague of those things a few years back, and were concerned about crop devastation. I knew it was only a matter of time before we saw them here. I've no idea how many eggs each one lays, but figure I'm saving a lot of plants with each one I kill.
Becky H
on Aug 20, 2012
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I've despised grasshoppers since I was a little girl, but not more than after they ate, yes ate, our fiberglass screens the first summer at our new home. We replaced them all using solar screen. Thinking it was a fluke, there were an over abundance of them that year, a couple years later we screened in our front porch with the same type of screening and they destroyed it. So that too was replaced with solar screen. It's also fiber glass, but denser so they can't get their pincher around it.
Z
on Aug 20, 2012
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@Becky, so THAT's what has been eating my screens! I haven't seen any that big in my yard, but a whole lot of smaller ones...and my mother's rural property has some that are so huge I was afraid of them, they are black and red and look like the devil to me! Ugh! What about Aluminum screens? Almost no one uses them anymore and I've always wondered why....
Sharron W
on Aug 20, 2012
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Sharron, I have aluminum screens, and any time I replace screens, it's with aluminum. Personally I believe so many have gone with fiberglass, because the fiberglass is easier to work with when rescreening. Aluminum is not quite as malliable as fiberglass, so it takes longer to work the spline and a little more to trim the screening.
Becky H
on Aug 20, 2012
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Becky, OMG! I didn't know they'd eat fiberglass screens! I'd be killing those things left and right for that, then suing their families!
Becky H
on Aug 20, 2012
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Sharron, we thought about going with aluminum screens, but they have draw backs, one of which Becky mentions, too. We built our home with low cost heating and cooling in mind so when we heard about the solar screening we decided that was the way to go. With over two dozen windows we knew it would really make a difference in our cooling cost during the hot months of summer. ROFLMHO Becky. Suing their families. I love that! Wish we could. We'd be rich!
Z
on Aug 21, 2012
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So guys, how do we kill them, cause frankly....Mom's fly and I'm pretty sure this old out of shape girl couldn't catch them to kill them individually even if I wasn't afraid of them...so without poisoning the entire place ...what do we do? 'Cause that one I saw out there this week was at least 4 inches long...oooooh makes me shiver just to think of that evil looking thing...I'mma get a picture if I see another one...
Sharron W
on Aug 21, 2012
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Glad to know I'm not the only one afraid of the ugly nasty good for nothing things! So, how DO you get rid of them?
Terri Gorman
on Aug 21, 2012
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ok..yall kinda freakin me out! I dont like grasshoppers, and I've never seen a FOUR inch one around here and DONT WANT TO! He's definitely a nasty lookin little booger! Ya'll keep them guys up there where ya'll are! We have enough evil little devils down here as it is! I've killed about 3 cow ants this summer so far, scared of those guys too! They're kinda neat looking, but man, do they hurt if they sting ya!!
Angela A
on Aug 21, 2012
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Angela, are you kidding??? The grasshoppers here are always about 4" long. There's very little you can do to kill them; they're tough cookies. I carry a can of wasp and hornet spray w/me while I work in the yard. So, when I see them, I spray them with that, and it works. I hate squashing bugs; it grosses me out, but I will if I happen to see a grasshopper when I don't have a can of the spray.
Becky H
on Aug 21, 2012
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Pat, I'm not big on killing bugs either, but you have my permission to dispatch those lubbers. They are wildly destructive as others have attested. And Sharron, by the time they get that size, there's pretty much no way to do it but manually. The crunch makes me cringe, but crunch I do.
Douglas Hunt
on Aug 21, 2012
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OMG Becky! That picture itself makes me cringe!!!! GROSS! I cant stand snakes and lizards, mainly because when we were little, my meanie of a brother would chase me and put them down my shirt, but I have to say, I cant stand crickets and grasshoppers either! But if one of these hopped up next to me while I was working in my yard, I think I'd faint dead away!!! I have flicked Locusts off my Jap maple (Sango Kaku - which they killed anyway -grrrrr), I have killed snakes in my yard, I leave the lizards alone b/c they freak me out, ugh, but I swear, this thing....ick! gross! ewww! I think I would run screaming for the hills if I didnt faint!!! LOL
Angela A
on Aug 21, 2012
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Ok! Wasp spray it is, or in my case I'm going to try the WD-40; since that's what has been successful on wasps....I'll let you know if it's successful on grasshoppers...
Sharron W
on Aug 21, 2012
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I'm certainly thankful I've never seen one 4" long! YIKES Sharron! Around here they are only shades of green. Some have wings like butterflies though. That about freaked me out when we moved to our country neighborhood surrounded by crops which is why we have so many. 100's of them. As I drove in or out of our neighborhood that first summer they'd be flying onto my windshield and I'd be screaming all the way with my wipers on. Back then I worked outside the home so this was a twice a day occurrence five days a week. I've had a terrible fear of them since childhood when they'd jump on my legs. I wore knee socks in the summer. As a teen one got into our home while my folks were away. I got the wasp spray from under the kitchen sink, the only thing I could think of using since I wasn't going to get near that darn thing. Luckily by the time I came back in the living room (my best friend stood watch) it had hopped in an open window. I sprayed the darn thing heavily. It appeared to "bleed". I had no idea they spit a reddish brown substance. After I sprayed it I got brave enough to slam the window shut and we ran across the street to my friends house. Even with the window closed to make sure if it wasn't dead it couldn't hop back out, I didn't want to stay in that house.
Z
on Aug 21, 2012
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Angela, I leave the snakes alone, once I've determined them to be benign, and I leave pretty much everything else alone EXCEPT grasshoppers and stinging catepillars. Those are always on my retaliation/revenge list.
Becky H
on Aug 21, 2012
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I used to have tons of grasshopper when I moved onto acreage, like scary. I made a waterfall that attracted an equally scary amount of birds, the grasshoppers are almost gone but now I have a bird problem, lol
Michelle
on Aug 21, 2012
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Becky, our grasshoppers have wings too; they keep them folded up tightly against their bodies, until they feel the need to fly. It's my understanding, that is their mode of transportation when they've the compulsion to migrate........like locusts.
Becky H
on Aug 21, 2012
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We have these that are black and strip the leaves off plants in a heartbeat!
Tesa Ewing
on Aug 21, 2012
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Sharron, let me know how it works out. So far, when I hit them with the wasp spray, the spray doesn't seem to damage the foliage. I'm not sure what WD40 will do to foliage.
Becky H
on Aug 21, 2012
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Oh Angela! the snakes are the good guys! I promise that they are very good to have around =) Just know your snakes and you can have a healthy gardener/snake relationship! =) BTW, most garden/urban snakes eat the lizards!
Heather B
on Aug 21, 2012
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OH MY GOODNESS! Never expected so many responses! This guy wasn't as big as others...I was blown away by the size! The first time seeing one here, I thought it couldn't be, just because it was that big... Thanks for all the advice. Just wish my friendly snake would eat them all.
Pat S
on Aug 21, 2012
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Heather....I leave the good snakes alone...the only snakes I've killed are bad ones....rattlers to be exact!! But yeh, my grandaddy taught me when I was young about the difference between good and bad snakes ;-)
Angela A
on Aug 21, 2012
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@ Michelle. Oh no! From one to another, huh? @ Becky H. These seem to fly short distances, but yet further than they normally can jump. Creeped me out when I first saw them do that. As for snakes. I know they have their place, but I've hated them since childhood Sunday School. Guess I thought they all were the devil. Oh and I don't kill any critters but mice and an occasional fly. The rest I run from.
Z
on Aug 21, 2012
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Becky, you mean you're still running cross county (track)?! A little cardio workout!
Becky H
on Aug 21, 2012
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Don't I wish! LOL I could use it that's for sure, but no I just run far enough to get away from them. Fast. And inside. My hubby and daughter are the runners in the family. They both run marathons. No way I would run that far unless someone/thing was chasing me. Ofcourse they'd have to be pretty slow or they'd catch up to me. Very quickly.
Z
on Aug 21, 2012
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