How to get rid of grasshoppers in garden

Grasshoppers can be a huge nuisance to all gardeners. The jumping little insects love eating the leaves and stems of plants and are more than capable to ruin a backyard in no time if the infestation is at scale.

So, how can you get rid of grasshoppers naturally, without the use of harmful pesticides on your plants? Well, there are numerous methods of organic grasshopper control that you can use yourself and keep these little buggers under control.

In this article:

• Organic grasshopper repellent spray
• Spraying Neem oil on your plants
• Introducing plants that keep the grasshoppers away
• Do grasshoppers traps work?

Organic grasshopper control refers to homemade solutions you can safely spray your plants with, in order to protect the plants and deter grasshoppers from feeding on them.

There are natural sprays you can make and use that will deter grasshoppers from your plants.

Organic grasshopper repellent spray

Grasshoppers hate the smell of cayenne pepper, garlic, and onion. Mixing both substances with water and making a spray is the greenest solution you can make.

How to make an onion, garlic and pepper spray:

1. Blend a clove of garlic, and onion and cayenne spray in a blender. Make sure you blend it well, as you want it to be sprayable.
2. Add water to the mix. There is no set quantity of water that you should add. Make sure that the substance is fine enough to be sprayable.

Spray your plants thoroughly and make sure you cover the whole leaf (including the bottom) and the stem. You should re-spray the plant if it rains, as water will wash away the mixture.

Spraying Neem oil on your plants

Apply Neem oil to your plants to repel grasshoppers and prohibit them from laying eggs on your plants. You can buy a premade solution in almost any store where you can buy pesticides.

Keep in mind that Neem oil gives mixed results when it comes to fighting and deterring grasshoppers. Some gardeners report good results, while others don’t see any difference.

Introducing plants that keep the grasshoppers away

The easiest way to get rid of a grasshopper infestation is to prevent it. That’s why the best way to deal with them is to create an environment that grasshoppers don’t like.

Plant flowers like Lilac, Forsythia, Moss rose and Crepe Myrtle. These are all plants that deter grasshoppers and can make a nice addition to your garden.

If you’re trying to stop grasshoppers from feasting on your veggies, then introduce plants like garlic, tomatoes and peas.

But keep in mind that while environmental grasshopper control is an amazing way to keep these pests away, it’s slow and it takes a lot of time. On top of that, you don’t have a 100% proof against them. That’s why we suggest you use plants as a preventative measure and not as your only pest control method.

It’s always best to plan in advance what plants you’d want to introduce in your garden and start growing them from early spring. This would give enough time for the plants to grow and form a way of a protective boundary to your garden.

Do grasshoppers traps work as a pest control method?

Placing grasshopper traps to control them and stop them from feeding on your plants is not a good pest control method. Grasshoppers infestations are usually accompanied by numerous individuals, so catching them one by one may reduce their population but it won’t deal with the infestation.

They may seem small and innocuous, but when grasshoppers begin to pop up in your garden, they can cause damage if left to run rampant. They are voracious feeders and can gobble up one-half of their body weight in a single day.

The adults as well as the nymphs can chomp the leaves and stems of plants in the garden if not controlled. There are many ways to take down a grasshopper population that has found a comfy home in your outdoor living spaces, most of which use affordable and common household items.

Grasshoppers in the Garden

The brightly colored insects don’t have much in the way of benefits for gardeners, but there are a few interesting facts about the popular insects that can help you determine which process you want to use to remove them, if at all.

They won’t cause much damage in small numbers and tend to move along. Till the garden soil in September to make the soil less hospitable for females to lay their eggs.

Grasshoppers don’t bite people. As a defense mechanism to deter predators, grasshoppers may throw up the content of their stomachs to fool the hunter that the prey is sick or diseased.

Get Rid of Grasshoppers

There are a few eco-friendly ways to eradicate grasshoppers from the vegetable garden or flower bed.

You can sprinkle all-purpose flour in a fine layer over the tops of plants. The flour will cascade down the plant, leaving a dusty layer that will create a sticky gum in their mouths, and the grasshoppers will starve to death. Frogs snap up nymphs before they can grow into a problem, as do lizards. A mix of 1 cup of red pepper flakes boiled in 2 pints of water will deter the grasshoppers and also keep chipmunks and birds from going after the tender stalks of the vegetable plants and buds of fruit trees. Neem oil is a natural insecticide that can be found in most big box home improvement stores or bought online. The natural plant extract is also found in toothpaste. Boric acid sprinkled along the garden wall edges works well to get rid of grasshoppers as well as many other garden pests, including ants and aphids. It is effective in warding off adults and lacerates the spindly legs of other insects as well. While it is generally safe, be careful when using it around kids and pets.

Garlic to Get Rid of Grasshoppers

To get rid of grasshoppers, as well as other common garden pests, apply a good dose of strong garlic. Making a spray is the best way to apply the mix to the plants without damaging the vegetable plants or flower buds. These organic sprays will sit in a cool, dark and dry place for up to two weeks.

You can crush 6 cloves of garlic and let it sit in 1/2 cup of mineral oil overnight. Add 5 cups of water to the mixture and strain it into a spray bottle for a strong spray. The oil will suffocate tiny bugs such as aphids and affect the grasshoppers in much the same way as they move from plant to plant.

A spray made of 10 cups of water and two bulbs of garlic, crushed to release the oils, will be enough to take out hopping critters as well. Mix the two ingredients and bring to a boil. Allow this to sit all night before pouring into a spray bottle.

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