Some of this summer's grasshopper stories are worthy of a Texas tall tale.

Yards so clogged with the munching insects that they choke the mower; fields so full of the munchers that every step results in a crunch; and gardens so stripped that even jalapenos are gone.

While some of these accounts may include a little Texas-size exaggeration, one disturbing trend is clear -- grasshoppers are invading Tarrant County gardens with a vengeance, and experts
say they are not going anywhere any time soon.

"They're already a problem and they can only get worse,"

Yesterday, frustrated gardeners called from Fort Worth, Hurst and Bedford, complaining that the hoppers are playing havoc with their carefully cultivated landscapes.

Although the area is not having drought conditions like last summer, the grasshoppers are a direct result of last year's unusually hot summer followed by a mild, dry winter.

When there is a drought situation, they come into the city looking for something to eat and then they lay their eggs.

That is what has happened over the last three years, and the population has gotten bigger and bigger because of the mild winters that had no rain. Now they have no reason to leave the city
because they've got plenty to eat in those yards and gardens. It's like an oasis to them."

There were brown ones, yellow ones, big ones, little ones. The bottom line is more than one kind of species is doing the damage."

In outlying counties, grasshoppers have invaded fields and pastures but their impact has been spotty.

"Last year, they ate the peaches down to the pits and even the
hackberry trees, but this year they've got enough to eat. I think we
can thank the rain in May."

In rural areas, pesticides are being sold for use on pasture land, according to two feed stores in Hamilton County, southwest of Fort Worth. But in the cities, most people are being advised to use a bait to attract and kill the critters.

Garden stores are also selling products that introduce a disease
that kills the insects.

They're after the most fleshy, well-bloomed plants; it usually seems to be the ones closest and the prettiest to them.


During last year's drought, the extension service did a study of devastated areas in Denton County to determine what grasshoppers ate. The agency said the grasshoppers ate "with
relish" everything from bush honeysuckle to chrysanthemums to roses. Among the plants they avoided were crepe myrtle, lantana and verbena.

The remedies for getting rid of the insects are as varied as their  diet.

Some recommend pesticide. Others say leave the hopper eradication to birds and wasps, while some urge use of organic products such as NoLo Bait or Bug'N'Snail that introduce diseases. No one agrees on their effectiveness.

"It's important to tell everyone that it takes repeated applications," it takes more than one application to get rid of them."

Grasshopper bait
Recipe:
25 pounds of wheat bran
one quart on molasses
one quart of water
two pounds of 50% solution Sevin dust or 25 ounces of powered pyrethrum
Mix together and let dry; then spread across a yard with a broadcast spreader. or roll
into tiny balls while still moist.
There are also several brand-name baits sold at garden & feed stores under names
such as Nolo Bait, Semaspore, and Bug 'N' Snail that introduce diseases that kill
grasshoppers in three to six weeks.

JPA
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Revised: February 17, 2008 .