Re: CULT: grasshopper control
- To: <iris-talk@onelist.com>
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] CULT: grasshopper control
- From: L*
- Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 15:58:45 -0700
From: "Loberg" <loberg@jps.net>
>From: "Mark Cook" <billc@atlantic.net>
>> Is there anything that is effective in controlling those
grasshoppers.
>I have seen some that are five inches long. They are large enough to make
>an audible "splat" when ran over at 70 MPH. I have done lots of things
with
>them, such as squashing them and tossing them on fire ant mounds and
>capturing them and feeding Bass.
>
Here's a non-pesticide way:
If you have a field of grasshoppers, a flock of crows coming in would
pretty much wipe out the grasshoppers... but you probably wouldn't want the
crows. On a smaller scale, chickens and turkeys will do an excellent job,
with turkeys having the most talent. I find chickens will rid your garden
of most crawling pests, however, unless your iris have tough roots cementing
them to one spot, you'll probably find the rhizomes moved a yard a two after
the chickens scratch for grubs. No harm to the rhizomes, but as far as
the chicken is concerned, they're in the way of finding a good grub. So
I've banned poultry from my beds, reluctantly.
Grasshoppers grow in fields where there is good feeding; that is, good
grass or other good things to eat. If you keep the fields next to your
iris 'grasshopper clean', by raising poultry in the fields next to your
iris beds, you won't have as many grasshoppers moving into the iris beds.
And when they accidently fly back into the fields, they're gobbled up by the
chickens, which have nothing better to do for 12 hours of daylight but wait
for something to chase. Good luck!
Kitty Loberg
Northern California
loberg@jps.net
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