Every year I learn about some other new pest or disease that I haven't seen before. This past winter it was grasshoppers. I started seeing holes chewed in the leaves of several crops. Initially I thought it was my old nemesis the slug. But even with uping the slug bait, I was seeing more and more holes. Eventually I figured out it had to be the grasshoppers. Then I caught one in the act!
I snagged this fellow just as it was eating on the leaf. Positive proof that at least some of the damage was due to grasshoppers. So I went looking. Egads....there were lots of hoppers, both big and little.
How did I control the grasshoppers? You're not going to get much useful wisdom from me on this one. I started a search & destroy mission on hoppers but within a week or two they disappeared. Well most of them did. There were still a few small ones here and there. But the vast majority were gone. Vanished. I can only assume that some natural malady knock the population down. What it was I haven't a clue, but both young and old were affected.
While I haven't learned how to control grasshoppers, at least now I can recognize the type of damage they do. So I'll be able to identify the problem earlier next time.
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