Derald wrote:

... One contributing factor is that two near
"back fence" neighbors, adjacent to each other, have taken steps over
the past thirty-or-so years to greatly increase grasshopper habitat and
breeding area while also providing winged adults a virtually unimpeded
path to within just a couple of hundred feet of the garden. I'm fairly
sure that's why the "nolo" results were not what I'd hoped. Oh, well; I
was warned, albeit indirectly, by another NG member that my effort might
be futile. There seems little point to trying to control the population
locally when adults can just fly in willy-nilly. Adult grasshoppers
travel great distances during the hot season and they are prolific. It
never stays cold enough for long enough to reduce their number
significantly.

they are good eating. we have a steady population
of nice sized ones by the end of the summer here. i'm
always glad to see the birds wrestling them in the
gravel, but to me they are also a back up food source if
times get tough. they are big enough it wouldn't take
many to make a nice side-dish.


songbird