There are more than 200 species of grasshoppers in the Southwest. Adult female grasshoppers lay eggs in the soil which hatch in the spring and mature through the summer.
Normally grasshoppers are not a problem in gardens and landscapes. Many birds, including quail, are dependent on them as an important food supply and tend to keep populations down most years. Occasionally, after a particularly wet spring, populations may build up and begin defoliating everything in site.
Rainbow
Grasshopper
Dactylotum
variegatum
Damage is usually
limited to a few weeks in early summer immediately after range weeds dry
up. Capture and removal is easiest in the cool morning when they
are slower. Floating row covers and other protective covers are probably
the best strategy in a small garden with a serious grass hopper problem.
Source:
Maricopa
County Cooperative Extension Home Horticulture:
Links:
