Argh! Is right. Here in the Southeast we have Eastern Lubbers--3 inch long grasshoppers that don't mind attaching to your clothing or even bare legs. The best way to deal with grasshoppers is to "know your enemy"--you have to learn their life cycle and watch for the larvae. By the time you see adult grasshoppers it may be too late, until you catch them at the nymph stage the next year. Sometimes you can sweep them up at the stage where they have just hatched. You can try to catch them with a butterfly net and dispatch them. Have a grasshopper party and supply Butterfly nets to the kids in the neighborhood!
Ive heard of torching the nests if you can identify them with a torch weeder (Red Dragon). Other than that look for areas that they favor in the neighborhood like weedy fields and get the owner to plant a crop less attractive to the grasshoppers.
Pesticides are ineffective. As I remember some universities are trying to develop bacterial or fungal controls, but the normal animal controls such as birds are not effective because the grasshoppers are poisonous.
They can be scary and they can do a lot of damage.
Also I would contact your county agricultural agent to see if there are any local programs. It may take community effort to get control of these hideous bugs. While we in Georgia and Alabama have gotten used to the huge grasshoppers, Ive read that invasions of other parts of the country like the Northwest coast have been predicted. Good luck.
http://jacksonville.com/lifest...
Here are some photos and links to more management strategies for the Easter Lubber.
http://www.freshfromflorida.co...
Your grasshoppers may not be Eastern Lubbers or they may have a different behavior regieme. I would check with your local county Agriculture agent.
