It’s time for the Montana State Fair here in Great Falls, which means entering the best vegetables in the garden shows and cursing the grasshoppers that ruin the ideal specimens.

I really thought we were going to get off easy this spring. The grasshoppers werent around earlier in the summer. Oh boy, did they make a comeback! When we walk thought the yard, theyre flinging themselves everywhere. And in the garden theyre chewing through some of my prized plants.

Kids and Grasshoppers

My first line of defense is our 3 year old son Samuel. He captures grasshoppers of all sizes, puts them in his cage, adds rocks and shakes them. Then theyre sleeping. It keeps him happy, and at least cuts down on a few of the little buggers. Of course, we take a cage full of dead grasshoppers everywhere with us because he likes showing them off. Its a small price to pay.

A far less desirable option is when Samuel squishes a stray hopper that finds its way into the house, and John (who is 18 months) eats it! Ewwww! Needless to say, I hustle any wayward grasshoppers outside as soon as possible.

We let the hen crew out to have an evening snack once and awhile. Lilith, Laydee Bawk Bawk, Beyoncegg and Yoke-ahama Mama cruise the perimeter of the property eating as they go. Its a win-win: less grasshoppers with happy and well-fed hens.

Grasshopper Bait

I should’ve sprinkled the Nosema locustae bait (either Semaspore or Nolo) about 3 or 4 weeks ago. It’s a naturally occurring protozoa that weakens the grasshoppers and often kills them. Here’s the yicky part: other grasshoppers eat the dead ones and receive a lethal dose. It should significantly reduce the population in 2 to 4 weeks. Semaspore is listed on the OMGI as a permitted product for certified organic operations.

Another way to go is Ecobran, a carbaryl infused wheat bran that is fed to them in the grasses and places where they hatch. The carbaryl (the same chemical thats in Sevin) is present in very low concentrations, but is effective when the grasshoppers ingest it.

While its most effective when the grasshoppers are young, it offers a pretty good knockdown throughout the season. It claims to be safe for birds and other animals, but I had one woman at a garden class I held this spring tell me it nearly killed her dog. Once again, its very low (around 2 percent) carbaryl concentrations, but you never know what the effect might be on a pet. Use with caution if you have pets who liked to eat such things.

I could dust the plants directly with Sevin, but I wont. I dont want to kill the bees, and I make the choice to deal with the damage rather than worry about one of my little guys eating broccoli (yes, Samuel bends over and bites it right off of the plant) snacking on something dusted with pesticides.