Daily Dose Blogger Bios
Beset by Monsters!
A monster Aloe named Willard in my back garden. A plant that sprouted an alien beast as it's bloom spike in my front. And now, on the fence above my baby vegetable garden - the biggest grasshopper I have ever seen. And we know that grasshoppers are evil denizens of gardens and yards everywhere - descending like marauding hoardes, devouring every desirable plant in sight. And this one has the gall, the temerity to just sit there on my fence, chewing lazily on my Passiflora 'Coral Seas'.
This grasshopper is a female, because they are bigger ... the biggest one on record is 11cm, and this one is easily 9cm... so I'll bet you anything she has laid a grip of eggs all over my gardens and they'll hatch in June, just when the salvias are looking their best and the roses are hitting their stride and those little hopper nymphs will eat up everything. So how do I get rid of these things? Yes, I have adopted a live- and- let- live approach to gardening, but sometimes a gardener has to draw a line in the compost and say ENOUGH! You can push me this far and no farther! (or is it further?)
So I did a little research on killing grasshoppers and was horrified to find out that arsenic was the accepted method of execution not so long ago. Not very organic, that arsenic stuff. What else... horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps? I don't know - I've never had much luck with that stuff. My preferred way of killing varmints is with a strong jet of water.
I did read about this stuff called Nolo Bait. It's some kind of demon spore that you mix with bran flakes (like cereal? Kellog's All Bran? Yuk.) and spread around where the hoppers congregate. They'll gobble it up, and the spore will activate and kill the grasshoppers from the inside out. The females pass the spores on to their eggs, and that way the next generation becomes Nolo'd, too. And as a bonus, the grasshoppers that live cannibalize the dead and become infected, and more death ensues! A slaughter!
This genocidal stuff is supposed to be completely benign to all the other things that eat grasshoppers - mice and owls and hawks and others... but I'm not convinced, so it's a big NO on the Nolo for me. I'll have to stick with the strong jet of water, or I could do what an acquaintance of mine does - when she sees one, she whips forward with her pruners and chops them in half.
EEEEEEWWWW!
Here's a better image of my Passiflora 'Coral Seas', for Pam of Digging. If you haven't stopped by to check out her marvelous spring blooms, what are you waiting for?
I have an even better way of getting rid of grasshoppers and other unwanted crawly-hoppy things: CATS. Organic pest control for me and my garden, delicious fun for the kitties!
Hot pepper spray and/or setting out several large jars of water mixed with molasses are a few of the suggestions offered in 'Bugs, Slugs & Other Thugs, Controlling Garden Pests Organincally', Rhonda Massingham Hart. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to get results organically.
Asparagirl! What a name! Right on!
I really want a cat - but I fear my gargoyles (otherwise known as my dogs) would be jealous. But you know, they look like cats - especially Dexter. I wonder if I could teach him to stalk the garden like a feline, pouncing on giant grasshoppers and being my pest police. It's about time I put him to work!
Karyn - thanks for the tips ... I CAN'T be anything other than organic - it isn't in my nature (oops - did I make a pun? sorry...) Do you know what happens once the jars of molasses are set out? Do the grasshoppers jump in them and get stuck? YIKES!!! I'm getting queasy just thinking of it. I have a very weak stomach. I had to stop using saucers of beer as bait for slugs because everytime I'd empty them, I'd hurl. I know I like to sound like a bad-ass, but really, I'm a wimp.
On a side note, whatever you do make sure it's safe to put out with your dogs. We had a little incident when our puppy was being watched by my parents who just put out poison for snails. It was a very expensive vet trip!
Omigod, Epmanda, I am so sorry that happened! That shows how easy it is to make gigantic mistakes in the garden - I mean, snail bait couldn't be so bad, right? Wrong! The evil chemical companies made (and still make) gazillions by telling us that the poisons they sell us aren't really that bad. I really don't even trust the pesticides made from 'natural' ingredients like pyrethrins and BT - sorry, a poison is a poison. You know what - I'm going to write a whole post about this! Thanks, Epmanda - and I hope your puppy was okay! Those vet bills can be shocking - but we are we to do when faced with those sweet eyes, so vulnerable? Pay through the nose, of course...
Sorry, Germi, the molasses & water does work just like beer traps for slugs and snails. Maybe this ones a loner just passing through and there's no need to worry.
The puppy did make it through, but it was touch and go for a day. Plus, my parents' dog ate it too...so we had 2 dogs poisoned and expensive vet bills. But the ultimate lesson that the whole family learned is the bad effects of poison in the yard can do...I would rather have the puppy then pretty flowers that the snails didn't munch on. I know we looked into pet safe stuff to put in the yard, but like you said poison is poison. I would love to hear if you have tips on this to pass along to dog loving gardners. :)
Cripes that bug is meal-size!
Here in the north we don't get bugs that big. Thankfully.
Jim/ArtofGardening.org
it's amazing how well camouflaged that thing is!
Karyn - I've been looking around, and I haven't seen any little ones... but I do see lots of foamy stuff here and there, and I'm afraid I'm in for a doozy of a hatching soon! The hoardes are coming...
Epmanda- a pet safe garden is super important to me, and I'll start puting some thoughts down on how best to balance our desire for fabulousness in our plantings and health and happiness of our romping friends. It'll make a great post. You know, everyone I know here in LA who is serious about gardening also has dogs. Isn't that funny?
JCharlier - This grasshopper scares the hell out of me. I read that they spit brown juice at you when they're scared! YUK! What kind of a bitchy thing to do is that? I never heard of such a thing! That should be an adage for good fortune "May the wind be forever at your back and may a grasshopper never spit in your eye".
Chanchow, dear - I was attaching errant stems of passionflower to the fence when I found it - my face was so close to it before I realized what it was that I could have licked it! EEEEWWWWwwwwww!
They must serve some good purpose, though - like drawing predators to the garden?
But yeah, I hate them.
And hey! I'm the exception that proves the rule. I don't have dogs. But something dog owners can keep in mind when landscaping is that lots of dogs like to circle the perimeter of their yards. I tell people not to plant anything too close to the fencing or it might get trampled. It's good to leave about a foot of space (depending on how big your dogs are) behind everything and keep the path somewhat clear.