Why are hoppers a problem?

Grasshoppers are natural mowers and stimulate plant growth. However, once they hit a certain threshold, they can cause severe economic loss. Learn how to easily watch for population increases every time you walk through your property. It's important to know when your population of hoppers increases to a destructive level, but it's also important to be able to identify the different development stages. These two factors will give you the best idea of when to treat and when it's too late or not necessary. If population numbers aren't significant, it's not economically feasible to treat. If the hoppers aren't in developmental stages 1-3, the pesticide won't be effective.

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How to Sample Hopper Numbers

Randomly select a spot several feet away and visualize a square yard area around it. Walk toward this spot while watching this square and count the number of grasshoppers you see in or jumping out of it. Repeat this procedure 18 times and average these estimates to get the number of grasshoppers per square yard. Counting sites should be chosen at random and include varied vegetation.

 

 

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