LARGE Yellow Grasshoppers

[katieyj]

We had started with gardening last year, then came the monsters. They start off as little black grasshoppers, some with red markings, some with yellow. They grow into HUGE (like 2 inches or more) LARGE yellow plant sucking killers. We tried 7 dust and that didn't work, put up screening around the garden, but some still got in. Has anyone else had these? We're in central FL. We're doing a garden again this year, anyone have any suggestions? These things are terrible.

[rockhound24]

My mom had millions of the things, but she is an organic gardner and didn't want to use poison to kill them. I suggested that she simply take a shop vac and suck them up off her plants every day, and then just let them die in the shopvac. I don't think she thought this was a very good idea, as she just giggled a lot when I said it... but I still think it could work!

[Andra]

I don't know if this will work on the bugs you have but I've heard you can make "insecticide" out of ivory soap and corn oil. Grate or cut up a bar of Ivory soap. Put it in to two cups of water and let it dissolve overnight or for a couple days. Then mix the soapy water with about 1/4 corn oil in a spray bottle. Spray it on your plants to keep the bugs off of them. You will have to reapply if it rains, of course. It's non-toxic so it's safe if you have pets or children.

[druidessemily]

When I was in Florida, we had lots of these at my grandparents. We called them "Georgia hoppers," not entirely sure why.

Is this what you have?
Romalea guttata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[katieyj]

YES! That's them. They are HUGE and destructive. Heck I think our dog is afraid of them too. I'm hoping to figure out what to do before we start this year. We really need the veggies this year as DH has just been laid off.

[druidessemily]

According to http://www.a-garden-diary.com/pests.htm:

Q. Could you tell me about grasshopper control? A. Look for new grasshoppers to hatch in March or April. They do not fly and can be killed in the early stages with an organic bait product (Grasshopper Attack, Grasshopper Control, Nolo Bait or Semaspore). The bait will also affect upcoming generations. Look for grasshoppers on spider and crinum lily and firebush particularly. An organic control for the very destructive lubber grasshopper is a mixture of hot pepper, soap and water sprayed on the leaves of the affected plants. This mixture will repel the grasshoppers. The big grasshoppers are best killed mechanically, as they become too large to be killed by commercial sprays. The large yellow lubbers do not fly like most of their relatives so are easier to catch and kill. They soon lay eggs and die off.

The comments in the following articles might also be helpful:

Orlando Sentinel - Little Lubbers Become Big Grasshoppers by

LSU AgCenter . Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are on the Move

[katieyj]

Thank you, I guess we'll try getting them when they hatch. I'll have to read these links and see what we can do.