Yes, I've used BT a lot over the years. It's expensive and ineffective if it hasn't been stored properly. Dead BT just doesn't work. It DOES work, but it's not an instant result.

I found when I had good live BT that it didn't start working until mid to late summer after the initial application. It also lasts through multiple years. I've usually found the 2nd year after an application had a much more effective rate of kill and started early in the season. After that it starts tapering off. I think the effects lasted through year #5 once, but it probably would have been better if new BT had been spread about on year #4. A reasonably wet season seems to also help it do the job.

It's gratifying to see grasshopper bodies turning dark and lethargic and then being cannibalized, though. If it hasn't been stored properly, I think Nosema locustae is killed rather quickly and then you wait and have just wasted time and money. It's not possible to know what the storage conditions have been from the source to you. If you see it in the local feedstore just sitting out on a shelf with feed, don't bother.

A grasshopper was on the orchid again, eating the roots. So my solution to protect the roots was to cut another piece of coconut fiber and tie it over the top. There is still air around the roots. It should mostly protect them from grasshoppers. The little beasts aren't diggers. They could squeeze under it, but it's not too likely. Here's a new photo. You can see that growth on the inflorescence stem. It's now over 2". The new center leaf, which doesn't show very well, is getting close to 2" long now. It actually seems to be an active and healthy plant in spite of the grasshoppers. I'll be glad when the old leaf completely dies. It has been a slow process, but I'll wait until it either falls off naturally or will cleanly detach with a slight tug and it's not there yet.

When my leaves get to this point, I will generally cut them off, perhaps 1/2-1" from the stem. I do it simply for esthetics.

Your plants are hanging, right, Donald? How do the grasshoppers reach those roots?

Ken,

The plant is hanging from an oak limb outside. Most of the roots are above the medium on the surface. The angle of the plant slopes downward slightly. Outside there is no barrier between plants and grasshoppers, so if they land on something they will chew on it if it's something they like to eat. Some plants they don't bother, but most plants will at least be tasted. Here the Differential grasshoppers are by far the most damaging, but so far they aren't the ones eating the orchid. The last culprit was a smaller type.

As for that leaf, I'm sort of assuming it's providing some nutrients as long as it is firmly attached and not crispy dry. At this point in the life of this particular plant, I'm letting it run the course naturally. I'm not overly concerned about the aesthetics at this time, more with the plant being as healthy as possible going into winter.

It doesn't hurt the plants, one way or the other. I have done this many times.

Perhaps you can hang your orchids a bit higher. I have 100's of orchids hanging under limbs and on shelves in my oaks/cedars, and have never seen a grasshopper on a single one. Those shelves and hanging baskets/tray are mostly above my head though. I need to be able to walk under them without banging my head.

This is hanging higher than my head. Any higher and it will be difficult to take it down. My grasshoppers aren't afraid of heights, I guess. Some years when they are really bad, there are chunks of oak twigs falling out of the trees where they are chewing the soft growth off. I hate that. It mostly occurs in drought situations.

Perhaps you might have different grasshoppers than I. I guess I have enough landscape and garden to keep my grasshoppers happy and they don't have to fly very high. Is there a "Texas" variety?

I don't know how many different grasshoppers are here, but there's a lot of them. The only one I've made much effort to identify and remember has been the Differential. You can Google 'differential grasshoppers' images and find a lot of photos of them. They are the ones that have been and are the most destructive. They are here in large numbers and have voracious appetites. I really hate them. There are a lot other grasshoppers, but they don't seem to damage things very much. The orchid may be a form of vegetation that a couple of those different ones do like. One that has eaten on the orchid should be easily identified, but the smaller one has a generic look to it that may make it difficult to identify.

Update. Well, with the advice here on ATP and some judicious use of coir I can say without any doubt that the dollar orchid is doing really well. The coir patch has protected the exposed roots from any further grasshopper damage. I can now see four roots going down in the coir that are possibly 4" or longer and when I checked under the patch on top, the roots there are branching and diving. Lots of new root growth. I cut off the old leaf when it started wrinkling. Now the next leaf has new roots coming through and is showing slight signs of wrinkling though it hasn't changed color much yet.

But the stem! It has now grown more than six inches longer and is forking at the tip of the growth. I'm not sure if it's really a fork or if it has a bud forming. The end growth tip is still elongating like it has been, but the one on the side is rounder and a bit purple so I'm watching to see what happens. I may need to relocate it again so the wind doesn't damage it by making it bang against part of the tree or a plant stringer. That stem makes a relatively small plant need a lot more air space! I hope I don't get too clumsy and damage it myself trying to look at what it's doing. Couple of close calls for the stem.

I'm thinking this winter I may devise some way of hanging it in a bathroom with a south facing window. That would give it a lot of light, warmth and humidity. Maybe if I can locate a ceiling stud, I'll just put a hook and do it that way. I'm beginning to think about winter. It was hot today, but the signs of the changing seasons are evident.

RickCorey said:Thanks for the play on words, Donald. I think that "lay" and "lie" are among my look-it-up-or-get-it-wrong words.

>> Have you ever tried that for grasshoppers? I'm thinking it would be a waste of good food that I could have snacked on.

Nope! I never tried it and never even read about grasshopper deterrence. I just thought "maybe". Slugs are my Nemesis, not insects.

However, I read that in India, Bhut Jolokia chili peppers are rubbed on garden fences so that wild elephants won't break in. If it stops elephants, it might stop grasshoppers.

And I know it stops elephants! No elephant has EVER eaten any of my Bok Choy or Snow Peas. They don;t even come close to my yard. how's that for deterrence?

I have learned more about orchids on a 'this is not an orchid thread' than I thought possible. Very interesting, educational and funny. I can hardly wait to hear how it makes it through the winter.

@drdawg - So what is really going on with the stem on the dollar orchid? Is that a bud or will it eventually be a leaf? It doesn't appear to be growing a branch off the stem. Also it looks like another is forming where the stem is growing at the tip. I don't even know how orchids are generally propogated. I just avoided even trying one for so many decades that ignorance is rampant. The new leaf is good sized now, but while the roots are going gung ho there is not a hint of another leaf coming along.

Donald, though I don't really grow a lot of Phal., to my eyes that looks like a developing bud. What you are likely to see is the stem continuing to elongate (branching or not), and as it elongates, buds will continue to pop out along its length. This is not the time of year that Phal. normally will do this, but hey, orchids don't always follow the book. This bud/stem growth may be happening now because it is a slow-developing stem (perhaps due to the variety), and since the stem and buds take longer to develop, the orchid is getting a "head-start". Most Phal. I have had are winter/spring bloomers.

Keep us posted (with pictures) as the stem develops and good luck.

@needrain I think this link may help with some of your questions..

http://www.repotme.com/orchid-...

Thanks Jean. That is helpful. Now if I can only remember all of it. So far it would seem I'm doing things correctly - it's outside hanging from an oak limb in a very fast draining medium. I do water it every day because it's still hot and dry here - that little contraption it's growing in dries quickly. I can see it's actively growing and if phals only grow about two new leaves annually, I've seen half that in the short time I've had it. Thanks.

You grow yours like I do mine, Donald.

You are most welcome Donald. I find it is easier to let the pros put it into words, then you can bookmark it.

drdawg said: You grow yours like I do mine, Donald.

I'm trying, Ken. That's one of the really nice things about ATP. Good advice based on experience. If I can overwinter the orchid successfully, I'm going to be inclined to try another one. I have no clue whether a bloom on this one will be appealing to me or not, but it's a good bet I'll like it even if it might not be my first choice.

Moonhowl said:You are most welcome Donald. I find it is easier to let the pros put it into words, then you can bookmark it.

Yeah, but I'm not very organized. I bookmark things and then forget what they are and can't find them when I need them. The sign of a messy mind, I guess!