Lately grasshoppers have been HORRIBLE. They are literally EVERYWHERE. I have NEVER seen them this bad before. I will have sometimes around 20 of them at a time on my car, and of course they don't blow off. They also get on the side of the house, like a hundred of them, seriously. Anyone else in any other part of the country seeing them this bad?
Seems we covered this topic not so long ago... back in 2000 or 2001 we had that exact problem here in my part of Texas. They covered the sides of houses. We even set up a "hopper gallows" just to try and warn them away. (Wish I knew what happened to that picture...?)It's a cycle. About every 20 yrs or so, the population explodes... based on weather conditions too.Next year it'll be our turn again as I am seeing more here than since 2001, but not yet as you are describing.Ugly lil' Bast*rds, aren't they?
FJ's Garage Thread "There is no tool you can buy that will replace experience." - Josh Mills, C.K.DeLuxe January 2011 GenVibe MOTM
EEEWWWWWWWWW!!!Have you ever seen what comes out of a grasshopper when it's squashed?YUCK!!!You try it if you want to, but leave me far, far away from that one. I haven't even gotten up the nerve to try sushi yet, and it's made fresh every day in my store by two Japanese that really know what they're doing. I trust them making it, but just can't bring myself tyo try it.
FJ's Garage Thread "There is no tool you can buy that will replace experience." - Josh Mills, C.K.DeLuxe January 2011 GenVibe MOTM
My late father grew up in North Dakota. In the 30's (known as the 'Dustbowl Era' farther south) they had CLOUDS of grasshoppers that ate everything in site, including the car upholstery of the time!
My 2003 Vibe Base Auto 2-tone Salsa "SalsaWagon" was built in May 2002. I acquired it in Feb 2004/Traded it in on a 2016 Honda HR-V in Feb 2018.
'Guess there were no synthetics in that upholstery. Most was probably made from wool or horse hair.When we were having our problem here, I learned that you can confuse a grasshopper by slowly and steadily putting your hand down in front of them. They don't quite know what to make of it, but they focus on it anyway. Then you can grab 'em from the rear by the wings, pick 'em up and smash their little brains(?) out on the side walk. I probably killed more than 100 that way. Of course that wasn't even a drop in the bucket. But it did serve to help relieve the stress of them all around.One Saturday when I was working, I came home to find that my wife had made a hanging gallows for the little buggers. She "claimed" it served as a warning to all the other hoppers in the area.I don't know if it had that affect, but it sure was funny. The neighborhood kids thought so too.
FJ's Garage Thread "There is no tool you can buy that will replace experience." - Josh Mills, C.K.DeLuxe January 2011 GenVibe MOTM