Pest Control News Archives
It’s Grasshopper Season in Utah!
During the lovely season of the year when your lawn and trees are the most beautiful lush green, and your garden is fully flourishing, damaging insects of many species come out to wreak havoc. That includes grasshoppers. Some years, they’re just a nuisance. Other years, like this year, they may be a more serious problem for many homeowners!
A grasshopper infestation of hundreds of insects can be very destructive. They lay eggs in the last weeks of summer, placing them under the surface of the soil, ensuring that you will face the same problem again next year. Grasshoppers are highly mobile. That can make it very difficult to eliminate a large population of these insects without professional pest control for grasshoppers.
What Kind of Damage Do Grasshoppers Cause?
There are around 400 species of grasshoppers in North America, and the majority can thrive in Utah. Only a relatively few species cause severe damage to fields and lawns. They tear and chew foliage and other plant matter, including stems, flowers, fruits, and all other parts of plants above ground level. Grasshoppers prefer the new growth of green plants and some flowers. But, in a dense infestation, virtually any kind of plant material can be ravaged, even trees and shrubs and, of course, turfgrass.
Homeowners overwhelmed with the high-jumping insects are unlikely to be successful with grasshopper pest control programs to eliminate a widespread infestation without a professional strategy for sufficient coverage.
Grasshopper Life Cycle and Habitat
Grasshoppers can multiply into a large population in an area over a period of several years. Most species of grasshoppers here in Utah bear just one new generation of offspring per year. They lay their eggs in the soil during the summer and fall, then those normally hatch the next spring. The eggs are clustered together in a pod by a sticky secreted substance that binds the pods to the soil. Nymphs (not yet fully developed youths) cannot fly, but most adult grasshoppers can fly over very long distances.
Ideal Conditions for Grasshopper Infestations
Grasshopper populations vary from year to year, like many other insect species, depending on environmental conditions and other factors. Females leave egg pods in areas with as little human or animal activity as possible. The species and its eggs do well in dry, warm conditions, promoting egg production for the next year. Snow cover protects the freeze-resistant eggs.
Extreme infestations often occur after several dry years in succession. The most severe grasshoppers damage typically occurs in regions with between 10 and 30 inches of total annual precipitation.
Contact a professional exterminator if you are dealing with a large grasshopper infestation. Legacy Pest Control uses only child-safe and pet-safe treatments to eliminate grasshoppers.
Grasshopper Pest Control in Utah
It may be too difficult to eliminate a grasshopper infestation from a lawn without help from a professional pest control service. Legacy Pest Control recovery specialists can identify specific issues in your particular lawn and provide the treatment needed to preserve your grass and plants while eradicating the destructive grasshopper infestation.
