giant grasshopers

[sick1166 11]

giant 4 - 5 inch grasshopers eating big chunks out of my bailey, gigas and some radiatas when ever i see one on there i crush them but cant watch 24-7 any thing to prevent them from having brunch on my copernicias? they dont seem to bother anything else palm wise maybe a radiata here and there but no other palms or plants yet thanks for any help

Edited October 15, 2010 by sick1166

[DoomsDave 9,119]

If you just have a grasshopper or two, here and there, I wouldn't worry about it. A healthy plant won't be harmed by a little chewing.

If, on the other hand, you start to get some serious damage, you can pick the devils, or you can spray the plant with malathion or Sevin, which are relatively mild (but still effective) bug killers.

Hope this helps, and let us know what happens.

dave

[carver 40]

They usually go for lillies and iris first, a couple sacrificial crinums might draw them away. I tend to go with the clippers or crush under foot method.

[Jerry@TreeZoo 394]

You are probably talking about Lubber Grasshoppers. They are big and slow and yellow, red and brown. They are so big that most sprays are ineffective and what you are doing already, namely squishing them, is the best eradication method for the adults. For every one that you kill now, that is hundreds that you don't have to kill next year. Pretty soon you won't see them any more as winter is approaching and the adults will die off, but not before the females lay about a gajillion eggs. The little ones hatch out when it warms up in the spring so that could be anytime from February to April. You usually see them on Amaryllidaceae like Crinum or other similar Amaryllis. The little ones are black with red stripes or sometimes black with yellow stripes. They are gregarious on the same plant and that is the time to kill them. Squishing always works well but if you believe in living better through chemistry, this is the stage to use it.

Some years are worse than others and if you can keep your population down to acceptable levels you are ahead of the game. Because their preferred food is poisonous (Amaryllidaceae), the theory is that very few things will eat the adults. If you have no poisonous plants for them to eat, the theory also says that your normal bird, toad and lizard population will keep them under control.

http://www.wildflorida.com/wildlife/insects/Eastern_Lubber_Grasshopper.php

[sarasota alex 224]

This one was eluding me for a few days inside my Rhapis multifida bush. I could probably easily get it but was afraid to break too many tender leaves in the process. Before I realized it, it did some significant damage to the palm's foliage. Then when I finally decided to put an end to it, I found it on top of one of the leaves. Took a few pictures and killed it.

I think it's a different species from the one Jerry posted.

[Kris 1,372]

Here they usually go after the phoenix palms...and i kill them when ever i spot them !

[sonoranfans 2,148]

I have also had a battle with grasshoppers in the 3-4 inch range, its supposedly a big year for them in florida for some reason. They can do alot of damage vey quickly. I killed many of them by hand after they hit my dypsis pembana and archontos and beccariophoenix alfredii. After that they would fly away when I came around, landing up on the house eaves out of reach. So then I got out the hornet/wasp killer, it worked like a charm, taking them down immediately(I would never spray my palms with that stuff). Good luck and happy hunting.

[sick1166 11]

thanks for the help they donot seem to be lubbers totally different color almost all brown, green thanks again they only really are eating the copernicias?

[Kumar 150]

What horrible insects - I hope you get rid of them all. It has been ages since I have seen a grsshopper of any size over here - perhaps the pollution in the city has done them in.