Let’s Do the Hop (without the twist & shout)

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted. I have been busy with life and new client starts. Customer referrals are coming in like a Kansas F5 tornado. As you are scrolling, I’m on vacation for the first time in four years! I’ve managed to piece together some words that would create a blog post. Is it great? You decide how it turned out.

Grasshoppers are in abundance right now. It must have been an awesome breeding season last fall. Various colors and sizes of these jumpers are everywhere, including in my flower beds. I caught these two lovelies enjoying the sunshine.

My gardening groups on social media don’t listen to science backed reasoning when it comes to managing grasshopper populations. They want “all-natural”, organic, and no pesticide use for control. “Grasshoppers are eating my plant leaves,” is a common theme in these groups. I tried to tell them garden insect management starts with preparations at the end of the previous gardening season. “But the pollinators are overwintering in the debris!”

My granddaughter wants no part of touching a grasshopper. She insists on shrieking, “It’s a BUG!” I did coax one into waving at her. (Yes, I talk to bugs. There’s a whole post about that) After seeing me pet the grasshopper several times, she still wanted no part of it. However, she thinks spiders are cool because they can offer free pest control for your garden.

Some of you know that I am a volunteer for my community. While doing rodent work at the city sewer ponds, I was (or wasn’t) attacked by grasshoppers. I tried not to fall off, or wreck, the ATV. My first thought was a reference to an Alfred Hitchcock movie as some sort of locust plague. Yes, grasshoppers and locusts are related.

Of course, I won’t leave out the safety aspect of my story. When escaping from a grasshopper apocalypse, try not to bend or twist while running away. Throwing your back out and pulling a hamstring is no fun. You can pretend you are Chubby Checker without getting hurt. While eating grasshoppers provides protein, and is a delicacy in some cultures, make sure you are prepared to ingest the flying green monster. Hopefully, you don’t have an allergy. I’ve never had a feast of bugs on purpose, and I don’t intend to, but I have unexpectedly eaten a fly. Aaaaccckkk!