Grasshopper management
With more than 100 species of grasshopper in Kansas, it is good to know that only a handful are considered to be true pests. Of the pests, the differential grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis) (bottom) and the two-striped grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus) (top) can be a couple of the most commonly encountered problems. Both of these grasshoppers emerge from overwintered eggs in early spring and adults are active from early summer until the first frost. This long window of activity combined with these grasshoppers’ highly varied food preferences makes them a problem for home gardens, crops, and even rangeland. Grasshoppers can be heavy weed-feeders and tend to move into fields from weedy field edges as that particular food supply diminishes. Treating field borders early in the season when the hoppers are still young can help provide control for later in the season. In the home garden, maintaining a weed free garden space can help eliminate favorable oviposition sites and thus eliminate or reduce the number of nymphal grasshoppers emerging in the spring. Control of hoppers in rangeland can be a bit trickier given the large area. Focusing treatment (if needed) on untilled border areas, weedy ditches and fence rows can help to control the insects where they would typically be emerging.
For more information of specific control options click below
For garden control
http://entomology.k-state.edu/doc/misc.-extension-document/grasshoppers-in-the-garden.pdf
For pasture control
http://oces.okstate.edu/woods/agriculture/ag-newsletters/Ag%20Page%20for%20June,%202013.pdf
For field crop control
http://entomology.k-state.edu/extension/insect-information/crop-pests/wheat/grasshoppers.html
http://entomology.k-state.edu/extension/insect-information/crop-pests/soybeans/grasshoppers.html
http://entomology.k-state.edu/extension/insect-information/crop-pests/corn/grasshoppers.html
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