Help, grasshoppers invasion

[CTB]

Yea, they have been around for years, but we are having a pretty heavy crop this year, does anyone have a trick for getting rid of grasshoppers. They are cutting the tips off the leaves of my vandas. So far they haven't bothered the buds or flowers, but they soon will be out of tips to snip.

[fotofashion]

Welcome to the club. I've had 'hopper damage on my plants all summer. They chew on the leaves and damage the buds. I sometimes cover the emerging buds with the mesh bags "baggie babies" come in. Sometimes it helps sometimes doesn't. I have taken to putting my plants in bloom in the GH. I also, if I catch the plant soon enough, put it in the GH when it starts to bud.
Do grasshoppers bite? I find them on the plants and try to grab them to give them the stomp remedy but they make noises and fly away. If I knew they didn't bite, I would grab them a bit more firmly.
Other than that, I guess I'm not much help.
Beverly A.

[shadytrake]

Bayer Complete in the blue bottle concentrate (its cheaper that way). It has two active ingredients, Imidacloprid: 0.15%, and B-Cyfluthrin: 0.05%. The imidacloprid is a systemic and the the cyfluthrin is the topical adulticide.

I can only find it at Lowes. It works great! I also used it for a nasty case of scale and it worked like a charm. Totally safe on the orchids. I tried to avoid any direct spray on blooms but it didn't seem to harm them.

[CTB]

Thanks, Bayer complete, I'll have to give it a try. I have drown them when found. They can't handle pressure from the garden hose very well.

I never heard of one biting, but when attacked no telling what they might do. Would have made a funny video of me chasing one around the shadehouse with a broom. It hopping, jumping and flying with me and the broom right behind.

[dendro photo]

they taste like almonds get a deep frier...

[Gin]

You might not be able to do this ,when my plants go outside I let my chickens in the back yard no hoppers survive .There are no small plants for them to scratch up just trees and large bushes . Works great they run down the hoppers . Gin Oh and yes they can bite if they land on you and sit but not if you catch them .

[Junebug]

Can grasshoppers bite? Yes, but not if you capture them on either side of their head. They'll also try to kick you with the spurs on their feet and legs. None of their defenses work well on humans. I used to play with them as a child, even the large locust type. Their spurs caused more pain than their bites, but my skin was never broken. My recommendation would be to wear garden gloves if you have a low threshold for pain.