hard to continue

[desertdan]

Today I lost another battle but I will continue the war for awhile. The grasshoppers are overwhelming. I fight and I fight but they just keep coming. They are tenfold worse than last year and this is 2 months earlier than last year. They seem to eat the best plants the most but they eat it all too. I hope I can work through this but am about to give up and go fishing someplace where the weather is cool. Anyone got some inspirational advice?

[9fingerleafs]

hang in there dan, maybe put a big broom stick holding a mosquito net, just like hammocks in the jungle

[desertdan]

Been thinking bout something like that but difficult to configure and big storms expected soon. I pray for lots of rain. When it rains a bunch this place gets like a savanna in the monsoon and the hoppers would rather eat something else. But with my luck this year it will come in a three day drizzle at 80 degrees and mold what is ready to mold

[9fingerleafs]

I moved indoors because of bad weather and bugs. I know that pain

[Toripony]

I'm sure you've thought of this but nylon screen comes to mind. The Garden Club member next door wraps some of her prize plants with it. Or you could get a flock of chickens. Or turkeys, lol. Ok, not so inspiring but hopefully that gave you a little chuckle.

[alltatup]

Wow, a grasshopper infestation like a plague!!! I sure hope it doesn't become a regular summer feature. Hard to know these days, with weather changes, where it's safe to grow and harvest a good cannabis crop.

[Redwasp]

Oh no. If they come in anything like what I saw in my short time in Arizona the only thing I can advise is to pray. Even pesticides won't stop those bastards. On the plus side they are actually pretty good to eat. I can send you some recipes. And just maybe after cooking, their lunch will be decarbonized and they will work like cannacaps.

[desertdan]

I actually thought about that.

[PRIMO]

Sorry about your plants Dan, on the upside those hoppers make pretty good bait, and shoving a fish hook in their ass will make you feel a little better.

[Potted]

Mosquito netting sounds like a good option if your able to conceal it. Good luck !

[desertdan]

The severe storms might start again today so the netting is an iffy prop. It must be removed before any strong wind. Very difficult to conceal. The jurasic hoppers showed up today 3+ inches. Semaspore bait does not work in this climate. It is supposed to kill hoppers at nymph stage but obviously did not work. I still have thousands of new nymphs and now the giant ones too. The giant hoppers can chew through a 1/2 inch stem in about 2 hours and that is what they eat. The big ones don't eat the leaves so they are the worst. My new pellet pistol will be here tomorrow. It is my last resort. I plan to go out every hour and shoot the jurasic hoppers from the stems and stalks. This time of year the little ones can eat the leaves no problem. The big ones can ruin a plant in 24 hrs. The battle rages on.

[9fingerleafs]

Hahaha Jurassic hoppers 😂 what a trip man I hate those fuckers. What about smashing them with a tennis racket. At least you let some steam off

[Cali]

Just go ahead and collect some lizards they love them some grasshopper they’ll help out alot

[desertdan]

I got more lizards than you can shake a stick at. They like the slower crickets better. I need more quail I've seen them chase em down.

[Chefbjy]

Have you tried garlic spray? https://www-organiclesson-com.cdn.am...rasshoppers%2F

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/grasshopper-control.htm

Or floating row covers?

[Redwasp]

Well all I can say is at least you aren't relying on plants as food to keep you alive till next year. Those little buggers have destroyed many a civilizations over the course of history. They can lay waste to everything in their path leaving all other living things to starve. It really sucks that you are dealing with this. Here over the last 20 years I have lost massively due to floods and lack of rain. I have lost houses to hurricanes on the coast. And lost my health due to men. Each has just been a stepping stone to build my mind and make me better. It hurts now but I promise it will all get better. Maybe a vacation, a long trip, time away is what God, Karma, or whatever you believe in is trying to tell you to do. I've learned the hard way that when whatever you believe in is telling you something you better listen. Because eventually they will speak loud enough for you to hear.

Sorry if that is way to deep for this board. Just a few things I've learned from life.

[desertdan]

The universe is telling me to build a greenhouse and so is my wife. It will be done this winter.

[Potted]

Now that’sounds like a plan,wish I could do that here.....👍

[Redwasp]

If that is what it is telling you then make sure you do it.

[Sheesh]

That sucks Dan. I'm an inside grower but I've seen caterpillars defoliate our night time jasmine in a few nights. Not as bad as stalk eating Jurassic hoppers and losing cannabis plants has way more impact than a landscape plant. I had to laugh thinking about you out there picking them off with a pistol. Good Luck and the greenhouse idea sounds great.

[GreenhouseEffect]

Man, I'm sorry to hear it.
Back when I lived in Texas, we had these things called Blister Beatles, spent there nymph stage eating grass hopper eggs, but then they would hatch out, and eat your plants to, same as a grass hopper. Would leave this nasty painful blister on your skin if they landed on you. Those things sucked, and so did the grass hoppers. Made you feel like you were in Biblical times, or maybe some kind of messed up Grapes of Wrath movie!

I think the greenhouse is an awesome plan, they are so nice, even just to hang out in, or when it's January, in the middle of the day you go out there in your T-shirt, and it is warm and sunny.
A lot you can do to help keep them cool in the summer, to. Some great Youtubes I have found before on geothermal heating/ cooling, thermal mass. A make shift swamp cooler would work awesome where you're at, to.
I know one grower who is running his without the ends on it this summer, just shade cloth on the ends to keep the bugs out. He oriented it so that the prevailing winds blow through, the shade cloth kind of cuts them down into more of a nice breeze, come fall he will close the ends off for the season. Definitely a build you will not regret!!

[alltatup]

I think we're going to see quite a few modifications in the way people grow cannabis, and I think a lot of folks will move to indoor growing. It's just getting too brutal and extreme in too many places right now. Breaks my heart what's happening in Cali...